| 18 December 2004 | Saturday | 05 Ziqa'ad 1425 |
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UN shrugs off US demands to boost Iraq presence
BAGHDAD, Dec 17: The United States failed to win a promise from the United Nations to increase its staff in Iraq ahead of elections as Washington stepped up its charges that Damascus was sheltering insurgent leaders. ... 
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Turkish embassy guards killed
ANKARA, Dec 17: Several Turkish embassy guards, on their way from Turkey to Baghdad, were killed on Friday in an armed attack on a road in Mosul, the Turkish foreign ministry said. ...
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CIA's secret camp at Guantanamo
WASHINGTON, Dec 17: The Central Intelligence Agency has maintained at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a secret detention facility for valuable Al Qaeda captives that has never been mentioned in public ...
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Shaky Iraqi forces key to US-British exit strategy
LONDON: Any US-British exit strategy for Iraq hangs on rebuilding Iraqi security forces, but 20 months after Saddam Hussein's fall there is little evidence they will be a match for rebels and criminals any time soon. ...
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White House puts UN-bashing on hold
LONDON: The Bush administration has distanced itself for the time being from congressional demands for the resignation of the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan. ...
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Labour to join Sharon coalition
JERUSALEM, Dec 17: Israel's opposition Labour party has clinched a deal with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party to join his coalition, a move that could push forward his Gaza pullout plan. ...
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UN report on ME delayed under pressure
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17: A UN report on reform in the Arab world has been delayed and is being rewritten after the United States and some Arab nations pressured the world body to tone down its findings, diplomats said on Thursday. ...
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UN official sees 'real' chance for ME peace
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17: A top UN official said on Thursday that "there exists, once again, a "window of opportunity' to revitalize" the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. ...
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US warned against weakening UN
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17: US Senator Patrick Leahy on Wednesday warned the Bush administration and his Republican colleagues on the Capitol Hill not to make a political football out of the United Nations by withholding its dues. ...
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Turkey says no Cyprus recognition in EU deal
BRUSSELS, Dec 17: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday agreeing to sign a text extending his country's association agreement with the European Union to include Cyprus did not mean recognition of its government. ...
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Life a whirl in Brazilian apartment block
SAO PAULO, Dec 17: Feel like you need to turn your life around? Then a new apartment building in the Brazilian city of Curitiba could be for you. Each floor in the 11-story building can revolve independently 360 degrees ...
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Veteran journalist shot dead
DAKAR, Dec 17: Veteran AFP journalist Deida Hydara, hailed as the dean of the Gambian press corps, was shot and killed in the capital Banjul on Friday. ...
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Hard liners move to bring back Rafsanjani
TEHRAN: Fears that Islamic hard liners could exacerbate Iran's nuclear stand off with the West, scare foreign investors and worsen social tensions may pave the way for a comeback by former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. ...
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Chechens question prudence of war
MOSCOW: A decade of fighting, hostage taking and bombing in Chechnya has ripped families, friends and a whole nation apart. Mothers, young men, Chechens and Russians are left with one question: why? ...
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