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| December 30, 2008 | Tuesday | Muharram 01,1430 |
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Saudi minister warns against racism towards foreigners
RIYADH, Dec 29: Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi al-Gosaibi has warned against growing racism among Saudis towards the millions of foreign workers in the kingdom, mainly domestics, media reports said on Monday.... 
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Secret files reveal Callaghan’s fear of USSR
LONDON, Dec 29: Britain feared it was too weak to resist Soviet attack during the Cold War after a confidential assessment showed its airforce only had enough missiles for three days, showed declassified documents....
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Tories put govt on the mat over knife killings
LONDON, Dec 29: Knife killings have soared to a record high in England and Wales, the opposition Conservatives said on Monday, citing police figures obtained under freedom of information laws....
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Wave of migrants tests Italy’s approach to Libya
ROME, Dec 29: A wave of migrants reaching Italy by sea is creating divisions within the Italian government on how to deal with Libya, which critics say is failing to live up to agreements to help intercept boats headed for Italy....
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African Union suspends Guinea
ADDIS ABABA, Dec 29: The African Union on Monday suspended Guinea after a military coup in the west African nation....
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Baghdad sees ‘vicious’ plot to stir Arab-Kurd conflict
BAGHDAD, Dec 29: Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh warned of “vicious and dangerous” attempts to convert political and economic problems in Iraq to an Arab-Kurdish conflict....
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UN accuses Uganda rebels of killing 189 in Congo
KINSHASA, Dec 29: Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels killed 189 people during three days of raids on villages in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo last week, a UN agency said on Monday, citing local officials....
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Natural calamities killed over 220,000 in 2008
BERLIN, Dec 29: Natural disasters killed over 220,000 people in 2008, making it one of the most devastating years on record and underlining the need for a global climate deal, the world’s number two reinsurer said on Monday.Although...
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Computer glitch disrupts Japan’s bullet trains
TOKYO: New Year travel plans were thrown out for nearly 140,000 people on Monday after a computer glitch disrupted more than 250 of Japan’s bullet trains, the operator said....
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Malaysia, India to sign pact to protect workers
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and India are to sign a labour accord Saturday to govern the recruitment and welfare of their workers in each other’s country, a report said on Monday....
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Chinese official sacked over luxury tastes
SHANGHAI: A Chinese communist official has been sacked from his government post after photos on the Internet showed him wearing a designer watch and smoking luxury brand cigarettes, an official said on Monday....
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Iraq, UK hope to seal troop deal by tomorrow
BAGHDAD: Britain and Iraq have yet to finalise a deal permitting 4,100 British troops to stay in Iraq but hope it can be done before their UN mandate expires in two days, a British embassy spokesman said on Monday....
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Italian priest’s attacker sentenced in Turkey
ANKARA: A Turkish court sentenced a man to four years in prison on Monday for stabbing an Italian Catholic priest in 2007 in a case that has highlighted attacks against Christians in Muslim but secular Turkey....
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N. Korea may stage N-test to ‘tame Obama team’
SEOUL: North Korea might stage a second atomic test to raise the stakes in nuclear disarmament negotiations next year but the new US administration is unlikely to yield, a South Korean think-tank said on Monday....
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US Navy, allies seize 20 tons of drugs
DUBAI: The US Navy says it and Britsh forces have seized more than 20 tons of drugs smuggled along a “hash highway” through the waters of the western Indian ocean....
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Gaza hospitals in chaos, says Red Cross
GENEVA, Dec 29: Gaza Strip hospitals are in a state of chaos after more injured people flooded in on the third day of Israeli air raids, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday....
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Obama may set new policy on Cuba’s aging revolution
WASHINGTON, Dec 29: Five decades after Fidel Castro toppled a US-backed dictator to take power in Cuba, the Cold War rivalry with Washington could be thawing as President-elect Barack Obama looks to ease sanctions against the communist-run island.Obama...
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Opposition leader Scents victory: Ghana’s presidential polls
ACCRA, Dec 29: Opposition candidate John Atta Mills is on course to win Ghana’s presidential election run-off, top independent private broadcaster Joy FM said on Monday, and provisional official results also put him ahead....
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Processed food may fuel lung tumour
WASHINGTON, Dec 29: Common food additives known as phosphates may help lung cancer tumours grow faster, at least in mice, South Korean researchers reported on Monday....
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Leaders lie, civilians die and lessons of history are ignored
We’ve got so used to the carnage of the Middle East that we don’t care any more – providing we don’t offend the Israelis. It’s not clear how many of the...
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Is Israel reprising the Lebanon war in Gaza?
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Gaza offensive, with its unprecedented toll on Palestinian lives and infrastructure, aims to pummel Hamas Islamists into a truce on terms more favourable to the Jewish state’s long-term diplomatic goals.Israeli...
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Massive quake rebuild holds key for China economy
ANXIAN (China): In 80 seconds of shaking, China’s devastating earthquake earlier this year cut a swathe of death and destruction through remote hilly towns....
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Guinea mining firms face year of uncertaint
DAKAR: Mining firms doing business in Guinea face uncertainty after the West African country’s newly installed military leadership vowed to revise contracts....
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Germany looks to Russia for clues on WWII massacre
TREUENBRIETZEN (Germany): For more than 50 years, the inhabitants of this small East German town kept quiet about a World War II massacre, and many today still have no wish to revisit the past....
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