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| December 24, 2006 | Sunday | Zilhaj 02, 1427 |
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North Korea blames US for impasse in talks
SEOUL, Dec 23: North Korea’s official media on Saturday placed the blame for an impasse in talks aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme squarely at the feet of the United States.... 
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Arab League chief pleads for Lebanon dialogue
BEIRUT, Dec 23: Arab League chief Amr Mussa pleaded for dialogue among Lebanese leaders on Saturday as he wrapped up a new round of shuttle diplomacy between the government and the opposition....
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Govt outpost captured, claim Somali Islamists: Assistance sought for jihad
MOGADISHU, Dec 23: Somali Islamists claimed to have captured a frontline position from Ethiopian-backed government forces on Saturday as the embattled Somali prime minister warned that foreign “terrorists” had joined the ranks of the Islamic forces....
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Clergymen criticise UK policy over Iraq
LONDON, Dec 23: Almost all the senior clergymen in the country led by the Archbishop of Canterbury have come out with scathing criticism of Britain’s Iraq policy charging the UK government...
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Floods kill 20, displace 170,000 in Malaysia, Indonesia
JAKARTA, Dec 23: Heavy rains in parts of Malaysia and Indonesia triggered floods that killed at least 20 people and forced 170,000 others to abandon their homes, officials and news reports said on Saturday....
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Lowest caste man named India’s CJ
NEW DELHI, Dec 23: A member of India’s lowest Hindu caste will become chief justice of its powerful Supreme Court for the first time, officials said on Saturday, but his community still faces widespread discrimination....
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$1.9bn okayed for UN HQ’s renovation
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23: The UN General Assembly on Saturday approved a top-to-bottom renovation of its landmark Manhattan headquarters building that is expected to take seven years to complete at a cost of $1.9...
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US generals agree to troop ‘surge’ in Iraq: paper
LOS ANGELES, Dec 23: Top US military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a “surge” of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles to proposals being considered by President George W....
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Ethiopia scoffs at jihad appeal
ADDIS ABABA, Dec 23: Ethiopia said on Saturday an appeal to foreign Muslim fighters by Somalia’s Islamists proved the “extremism” of the movement Addis Ababa accuses of being run by Al Qaeda-linked militants....
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Indian army officer killed
SRINAGAR, Dec 23: Suspected Kashmir rebels killed an army officer and injured two soldiers in a gun battle in the Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday, police said....
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Iraqis’ hopes for the future fizzle out
BAGHDAD: Despite promises from Iraqi and US leaders that 2006 would bring improvement, Iraqis have suffered through the worst year in living memory, facing violence, fragmentation and a disintegrated economy....
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Planning a better Nepal for all
KATHMANDU: Cycle and foot traffic will swell on the two-lane highway that runs through Nepal’s ‘tarai’ (plains region). Normally the road teems with buses that pack passengers onto their roofs and...
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Election gamble can push Palestine into civil war
JERUSALEM: Frustrated with the impasse in unity talks with Hamas, the usually unadventurous, risk-averse Mahmoud Abbas is embarking on what can only be described as the biggest political gamble of his long career -- his decision to call early Palestinian elections....
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Arroyo has lost nation’s trust
MANILA: Many Filipinos believe their nation’s constitution must be changed, but they do not trust President Gloria Arroyo to do the job, analysts say....
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Search for brides in cyberspace
BANGKOK: After a series of doomed relationships with American women, Marc Sullivan came to Bangkok in a bid to meet Miss Right at last....
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A tradition falls victim to war
BAGHDAD: Baghdad’s vicious sectarian war has claimed another victim; a Christmas tradition that used to bond the city’s Christian community closer to their Muslim neighbours is dying....
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