KABUL – Five troops serving with the NATO-led force in Afghanistan were killed yesterday, including three in a clash with insurgents in the east, the coalition said, one of the worst daily tolls in a month.
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DUBLIN/BERLIN – Ireland did not rule out the possibility that it may have to turn to Europe for help in dealing with its debt crisis yesterday but said that it was not discussing EU financial aid as yet.
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JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will probably win narrow approval from his coalition government for a U.S. proposal to extend a freeze on West Bank settlement building, Israeli political sources said yesterday.
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YOKOHAMA, Japan – President Barack Obama said yesterday he would push hard to get the U.S. congress to approve a new START weapons treaty with Russia and stressed the former Cold War foes were now cooperating closely on key issues.
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PARIS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy reappointed a trusted ally as prime minister and named new defence and foreign ministers in a Sunday night reshuffle aimed at shoring up his position 18 months before a presidential poll.
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ROME – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his fiercest rival Gianfranco Fini are girding for a final showdown which political analysts say is likely to lead to a government collapse in a matter of weeks.