JERUSALEM – Israeli intelligence experts dismissed yesterday the prospect of lasting diplomatic fallout for Israel or damage to its Mossad spy agency over the spotlight shone on the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai.
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KABUL – Afghanistan’s Taliban yesterday rejected President Hamid Karzai’s latest call for peace, despite pressure from a NATO offensive and the capture of its number 2.
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AMSTERDAM – Dutch troops are likely to leave Afghanistan this year as planned, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said yesterday, as early polls showed his rivals benefitting from the government’s collapse over the mission.
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KIEV – Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yanukovich named three candidates for the post of premier yesterday and said he expected a coalition to replace the government of Yulia Tymoshenko to be formed soon.
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BEVERLY HILLS – The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, said the United States and other countries could help his campaign for a free Tibet by promoting an open society in China.
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WASHINGTON – Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s Republican governor, defended Democratic President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan yesterday, saying 150,000 new jobs were created in his state thanks to the legislation.
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LONDON – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown rejected as baseless and malicious allegations published in a Sunday newspaper that he had terrified staff by shouting abuse at them and in some cases had physically intimidated them.
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HARARE – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe celebrated his 86th birthday yesterday, still in office three decades after independence, with analysts suggesting he may cling to power for the rest of his life despite dividing the country during his long rule.