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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday as a new U.S. push for Middle East peace opened one of the deepest divides in years in relations between the United States and close ally Israel.
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BRUSSELS/LONDON - NATO said it had intercepted an oil tanker that the alliance had reason to believe was set to deliver fuel to military forces headed by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
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BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON - European leaders raced on Friday to nominate a successor for fallen IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn before a G8 summit next week, with French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde in pole position.
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AMMAN - At least 21 protesters were killed on Friday after Syrian security forces opened fire during pro-democracy protests, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
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SANAA - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has agreed to sign a Gulf-brokered power transition, called on Friday for early elections to prevent bloodshed as three months of protests raged on in the fractious country.
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Pakistan's Taliban said on Friday it had attacked a U.S. consulate convoy in the volatile northwestern city of Peshawar, the latest assault in a surge of violence since U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden this month.
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MADRID - Tens of thousands of Spaniards angry over joblessness protested for a sixth day on Friday in cities all over the country, and the government looked unlikely to enforce a ban on the demonstrations, fearing clashes.
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NEW DELHI - An Indian court sent the daughter of a key government ally on Friday to jail pending trial on charges she handled a ${esc.dollar}47 million bribe in the country's biggest corruption case.
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BEIJING - China has agreed to speed up the delivery of 50 fighter jets to Pakistan, a Pakistani government minister confirmed on Friday, as Islamabad tries to deepen ties with Beijing as an alternative to increasingly fragile relations with the United States.
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JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's ANC was poised to sweep to victory in local elections but gains by the main opposition DA indicate growing anger at the ruling party, which has been in power since apartheid ended 17 years ago.
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SEOUL - North Korea's iron ruler Kim Jong-il made a surprise visit to China on Friday, South Korean media reported, amid a series of confusing reports about who was involved and the purpose of the trip.
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PARIS/CHICAGO - Drought from Paris, France to Paris, Texas has farmers and grain dealers looking upwards. The farmers are looking to the skies for rain and the dealers are wondering where rising grain prices are going to stop.
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