TOP STORIES
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AMMAN - Syrian troops in tanks and armoured vehicles poured into the southern town Deraa and opened fire on Monday, residents said, in the latest bloodshed in a crackdown on protests that has escalated sharply in recent days.
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Lin Noueihed - NATO forces flattened a building inside Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound early on Monday, in what a press official from Gaddafi's government said was an attempt on the Libyan leader's life.
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SANAA - Yemeni security men opened fire on Monday to block thousands of protesters from marching into an industrial town to join a street rally seeking the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounding 10, witnesses said.
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KANDAHAR - Insurgents tunnelled into the main jail in Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province on Monday, freeing hundreds of prisoners, including many Taliban commanders, a serious setback for U.S. forces who hope to start withdrawing in coming months.
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PHANOM DONG RAK, Thailand - Thailand's foreign minister called on Monday for one-on-one talks with Cambodia after three days of jungle clashes that killed at least 12 people and sent thousands into evacuation centres in the bloodiest border conflict in nearly two decades.
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TOKYO - Unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan faces fresh pressure to quit after his ruling party's losses in local elections on Sunday, weakening his clout as he struggles to contain a nuclear crisis and find ways to finance post-quake rebuilding.
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BEIJING - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Monday he hopes to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son and presumed heir during a visit this week that will concentrate on Pyongyang's nuclear programme and foodaid needs.
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NEW DELHI - Indian federal police said they were likely to arrest the chief organiser of the Delhi Commonwealth Games on Monday following an investigation into allegations of widespread corruption in the ${esc.dollar}6 billion event meant to showcase the country's rise as a global power.
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan - The main supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan was temporarily closed on Sunday after thousands of people blocked a key highway in Pakistan to protest against U.S. drone strikes, officials said.
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CASABLANCA, Morocco - Thousands took to the streets of Morocco on Sunday in peaceful demonstrations to demand sweeping reforms and an end to political detention, the third day of mass protests since they began in February.
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ROME/PARIS - Italy and France will discuss changing the regulations governing Europe's border-free travel when President Nicolas Sarkozy visits Rome on Tuesday seeking to ease tensions over north African immigration.
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JUBA, Sudan - At least 55 fighters were killed when south Sudan's army clashed with a rebel militia, a state minister said on Sunday, the latest in a wave of violence across the territory ahead of its independence in July.
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MOGADISHU - Somalia's U.N.-backed government said on Sunday it planned to postpone elections to next year, saying it had to tackle insecurity first, further deepening its dispute with parliament.
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