CANNES, France – The leaders of Germany and France told Greece yesterday it would not receive another cent in European aid until it decides whether it wants to stay in the euro zone.
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ROME – An emergency Italian cabinet meeting called to accelerate budget reforms and calm market turmoil ended late yesterday with yet more bickering among coalition partners and little progress on reforms needed to strengthen the economy.
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CAIRO – Syria is under pressure from its Arab neighbours to end months of bloodshed, after agreeing to a plan to pull its military out of cities, release political prisoners and hold talks with the opposition.
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LONDON – WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange, whose activities have angered the U.S. government, should be sent to Sweden from Britain to face questioning over alleged sex crimes, the High Court ruled on Wednesday, rejecting his appeal against extradition.
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WASHINGTON – With U.S. Republicans and Democrats in a familiar deadlock over taxes, prospects are poor for crafting a deficit reduction deal before a Nov. 23 deadline, a top Democratic lawmaker said yesterday.
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WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. presidential candidate Herman Cain accused rival Rick Perry’s campaign yesterday of being behind explosive sexual harassment claims as the 2012 White House race erupted into acrimony.
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Presi-dent Barack Obama faces the delicate task of pushing European leaders to solve their debt crisis without appearing to lecture them at a summit of world economic powers this week.
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OAKLAND, California – Hundreds of protesters blocked a major Oakland intersection on Wednesday in what they called a general strike to protest economic conditions and police brutality, but fell well short of paralyzing the city.
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JERUSALEM – Israel test-fired a missile from a military base yesterday, two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of the “direct and heavy threat” posed by Iran’s nuclear programme.
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RAMALLAH – Israel’s tough responses to a successful Palestinian bid to join UNESCO — financial sanctions and a faster settlement drive in the occupied West Bank — are unlikely to halt a Palestinian quest for recognition as a state at the United Nations.
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PARIS – A firebomb attack gutted the headquarters of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday after it put an image of the Prophet Mohammad on its cover.
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LONDON – Britain’s government offered unions a revised deal on public sector pension reform yesterday, but unions said it was not enough to avert a national strike planned for later this month.