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Massive tornado rips through Oklahoma killing dozens
WASHINGTON - A massive tornado ripped through parts of Oklahoma city and its suburbs in the United States killing at least 24 people, including nine children, besides leaving scores homeless. As winds at over 320 kilometers per hour (kmph) flattened homes and businesses and severely damaged a hospital and two elementary school, the death toll was earlier said to be more than 90 but it was ...
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Thein Sein praised for reforms in Myanmar but urged to end violence against Muslims
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama praised the reforms of Myanmar leader Thein Sein but urged him to end violence against Muslims. Sein is the country's first president to visit the White House in almost half a century. Speaking from the US capital Monday Obama said he recognized Sein's work to guide Myanmar down "a long and sometimes difficult, but ultimately correct, path to ...
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Roadside bombing kills six Afghan policemen in Herat
KABUL, Afghanistan - At least six Afghan policemen guarding a strategically important dam were killed in a roadside bombing Tuesday in the war-torn country's western province of Herat, officials said. They said that suspected Taliban insurgents triggered the explosion when a police patrol vehicle heading to Herat city was travelling in the Chashti Shareef district of the province. "There ...
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Top court overturns genocide conviction of former dictator
GUATEMALA CITY - The constitutional court of Guatemala has ordered that the genocide trial of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt should be taken back to the middle of proceedings, thus overturning his conviction and sentencing to 80 years in prison. The ruling on Monday doesn't annul the entire trial of the case but the top court has ordered that whatever happened after April 19 should be ...
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After two weeks detention North Korea frees Chinese boat and 16 fishermen
PYONGYANG - A Chinese boat and 16 fishermen held by armed North Koreans for more than two weeks have been released, easing the latest tension in relations between the neighbouring allies. Owner Yu Xuejun, who was not on board the boat when it was seized on 5 May, wrote on his microblog that his captain called him at 3.50am to say the crew and boat were set free and that they were on their way ...
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Barroro voices concern over estimated one trillion euro tax evasion
BRUSSELS - Voicing concern about tax evasion that is estimated at one trillion euros, European Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso said Tuesday that EU leaders will meet at a one-day summit on Wednesday to negotiate solution. The European Union can't afford to let tax evasion go on the way it is. Such large amounts of money, currently sitting in tax havens, would be greatly beneficial ...
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German central bank sees signals of economic pick up in Q2
FRANKFURT - Germany's central bank Deutsche Bundesbank expects the country's economy to improve "markedly" in the second quarter relying on signals of pick up in industrial orders and likelihood of weather related downturn in construction sector no longer impacting investment sentiments a development that could boost the wider eurozone as it struggles to get out of recession. "Overall ...
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HNL cancer drug trial discontinued by Pfizer
NEW YORK - Pharma major Pfizer has discontinued the development of cancer candidate inotuzumab ozogamicin, which is part of a class of therapies called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), in the haematological cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma after it failed to show benefit in overall survival during phase III trials. Pfizer has notified the study investigators and appropriate regulatory authorities ...
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Merger pact by GrubHub and Seamless to stave off rivals
WASHINGTON - GrubHub Inc. and Seamless North America LLC, two of the biggest online services for food-delivery in the U.S., have entered into a definitive agreement to combine their companies to take on rivals in the growing market for online meal orders. The merger will create a combined company well positioned to drive more orders to restaurants, deliver a better experience for hungry ...
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Mortgage lending in UK rises highest in four years
LONDON - The UK housing market seems to be picking up with gross mortgage lending up 4.3 per cent in April over previous month to 12.1 billion pounds, the highest in over four years, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The mortgage lending was 21% higher than April 2012, but this data is skewed by the end of the stamp duty concession on 24 March, 2012. Under the stamp duty ...
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US drugmaker Actavis buying Warner Chilcott in $8.5bn deal
WASHINGTON/ DUBLIN - Actavis Inc, the largest US generic drug maker by market value, is acquiring Dublin-based Warner Chilcott in a deal worth $8.5billion (5.6billion pounds) including $3billion net debt, to create the third-biggest specialty pharmaceutical company in the country. Under the deal, Actavis, which itself has been the subject of bid speculation, would be offering $5billion in ...
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Morgan Stanley India to sell wealth management arm to StanChart
MUMBAI - The UK based Standard Chartered (StanChart) Monday announced plans to acquire the Indian private wealth management business of US multinational financial services firm Morgan Stanley for an undisclosed amount as part of plans to expand operations. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals. "Standard Chartered India has agreed to acquire Morgan Stanley's onshore private ...
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Deadly Attacks Strike Iraq Again
Attacks across Iraq on May 21 left at least 20 dead and many more wounded. In the bloodiest attack, a car bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque in western Baghdad, killing 11 people and wounding 21 more. The fresh violence comes a day after some 70 people were killed in violence targeting majority Shi'a. Nearly 300 people have been killed in the last week amid rising sectarian ...
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Kyrgyzstan To Cancel U.S. Transit Center Agreement
The Kyrgyz government has decided to cancel the U.S.-Kyrgyz agreement on NATO's use of the transit center at Manas International Airport near Bishkek as of July 11, 2014. The announcement was placed on the cabinet's website on May 21. It said a draft of the decision will be given soon to the parliament for approval. A U.S. State Department spokesperson would not speculate on ...
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Rebel Feiglin barred from Knesset Education Ctee
Likud Beytenu removed MK Moshe Feiglin from the Knesset Education Committee Tuesday night, as a result of his rebellion against the coalition because Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will not allow him to visit the Temple Mount.Knesset House Committee chairman Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud Beytenu) announced in the Knesset plenum Tuesday night that coalition chairman Yariv Levine, also of Likud ...
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Islamists release seven Egyptians kidnapped in Sinai
kidnapped by Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula last week were released on Wednesday, the army said.Security sources said they were freed following talks mediated by local Bedouin tribal leaders. The men were handed over to the army in an area south of Rafah, near the border with ...
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Government watchdog demands PM appoint deputy
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu must appoint a permanent deputy, the Movement for Quality Government demanded Tuesday.The government watchdog NGO wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's Office and Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein pointing out that Basic Law: Government says that if the prime minister is abroad or incapacitated, his deputy will temporarily take his place as acting prime ...
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Independent probe needed for Claims Conference
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky has called for an independent probe to investigate allegations against senior executives of the Claims Conference, a spokesman ...
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Jodi Arias begs for life
Jodi Arias points to her family as a reason for the jury to give her a life in prison sentence instead of the death penalty during the penalty phase of her murder trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, ...
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Is Pope Francis an exorcist
In this image made from video provided by APTN, Pope Francis lays his hands on the head of a young man, who then heaved deeply a half-dozen times, convulsed, and slumped in his wheelchair as the pontiff prayed over ...
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Kenya unfazed by Obama’s ‘snub’
Nairobi - Kenya said on Tuesday it was ';fine'; with United States President Barack Obama avoiding the country on an Africa tour next month, rejecting reports it was due to upcoming crimes against humanity trials of its ...
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Insight No more easy pickings in Russias banking market
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Foreign banks that once treated Russia as virgin land where easy money could be made are now finding it a cut-throat market tougher than some bargained ...
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Rescuers seek Oklahoma tornado survivors as area eyes recovery
1 of 5. Danielle Stephan holds boyfriend Thomas Layton as they pause between salvaging through the remains of a family member's home one day after a tornado devastated the town Moore, Oklahoma, in the outskirts of Oklahoma City May 21, ...
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Egypt TV 7 security personnel kidnapped in Sinai freed
Egyptian soldiers deployed at Rafah Crossing border between Egypt and Gaza Strip on May 21, 2013 as Cairo was intensifying efforts to secure release of seven security personnel captured in Sinai Peninsula week ...
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Anthony Weiner tosses hat into NYC mayoral race
NEW YORK Anthony Weiner has tossed his hat into the race for New York City mayor, joining a crowded field and formally beginning an attempt to come back from a scandal that forced him to resign from the House of Representatives. After weeks of speculation, the disgraced former congressman made it official ...
Brisbane Digest
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Cost of driving is becoming punitive in Brisbane
Is driving in Brisbane becoming punitively expensive? With the recent toll increases, on top of those made in 2006 and 2008, as well as last year, and the recent mis-management surrounding the privatisation of major roads in Sydney, it seems that using major roads in Brisbane is going to become even more expensive.
Brisbane, like many cities across Australia, is facing a mounting budget deficit in the wake of the near-crippling financial crisis and ensuing recession, as the state capital, it must also oversee Queensland’s plunge in revenues, which has created a budget deficit of over $2.3 billion for the state. Read more
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