Reuters World News Highlights

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday denied  offering Russia a deal in which Washington would slow deployment  of a missile defense shield in Europe in exchange for Moscow’s  help in a nuclear stand-off with Iran.
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NEW YORK – U.S. President Barack Obama forecast a dismal  first quarter but said credit would flow again some day and met  with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who called for a  “global New Deal” to rescue the world economy.
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LONDON – A key European stock index fell to a lifetime  closing low yesterday, led lower by oil stocks as crude prices  slipped towards $40 a barrel.
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JERUSALEM – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged  yesterday to press hard for Palestinian statehood, putting  Washington on a possible collision course with Israeli Prime  Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.
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MOSCOW – Russia has allowed a supply cargo for U.S. forces  in Afghanistan through its territory by train, a sign of  Moscow’s growing cooperation with Washington on the issue.