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BY: Robyn Dixon | Los Angeles Times
Plateau state, at the crossroads of the Muslim north and Christian south, is a tinderbox. A hissed insult or misunderstanding can spark frenzied violence that leaves hundreds dead.
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BY: Bill Roggio | The Long War Journal
The US launched two new airstrikes in Pakistan's Taliban controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, just one day after killing 11 al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in a strike in the same region.
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BY: Mark Landler | The New York Times
For President Obama, getting into a serious fight with Israel carries obvious domestic and foreign political risks. But it may offer the administration a payoff it sees as worthwhile: shoring up Mr. Obama’s credibility as a Middle East peacemaker by showing doubtful Israelis and Palestinians that he has the fortitude to push the two sides toward an agreement.
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BY: Kirk Sowell | World Politics Review
Most coverage of the outcome of Iraq's March 7 elections has portrayed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's re-election as seriously in doubt, with former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shiite, contending for the position. However, not only is another term for Maliki likely, his only real obstacle is securing Kurdish support.
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BY: Anthony Shadid | The New York Times
The followers of Moktada al-Sadr, a radical cleric who led the Shiite insurgency against the American occupation, have emerged as Iraq’s equivalent of Lazarus in elections last week, defying ritual predictions of their demise and now threatening to realign the nation’s balance of power.
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BY: Martin Chulov | The Guardian
Iraqi prime minister Nour al-Maliki's political bloc has called for a recount of all ballots cast in the general election nine days ago, alleging an official in the government-run election centre has wrongly entered data to favour a rival candidate.
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BY: Bill Gertz | The Washington Times
Iran is assisting al Qaeda by facilitating links between senior terrorist leaders and affiliate groups, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East told Congress on Tuesday.
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BY: Barry Bearak | The New York Times
For years, people have noticed a mismatch between the income and the outgo of many within the governing African National Congress. The A.N.C. is the party of Nelson Mandela, the organization that liberated the country from apartheid, the home of many heroes now struggling to get rich.
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BY: Scott Baldauf | The Christian Science Monitor
As the Somalia government fends off militant group Al Shabab, the Al Qaeda-linked insurgency shows its power through intimidation of a whistle-blower.
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BY: Benjamin Joffe-Walt | The Media Line
A United Nations monitoring group has issued a scathing critique of Somalia's transitional government, calling its forces "ineffective, disorganized and corrupt" despite international assistance.
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BY: Edward Cody | The Washington Post
France, Britain and Germany accused the Defense Department of altering specifications for the new tanker to favor Boeing against Europe's Airbus consortium, which had bid for the contract in partnership with the U.S. firm Northrop Grumman.
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BY: Andrew Rettman | EU Observer
Speaking in an interview with EUobserver about the prospects for setting up a future European Debt Agency (EDA) and a European Monetary Fund (EMF), Mr Leterme predicted that current resistance to the plans will melt away in the coming years.
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BY: Sergei Blagov | Eurasia Daily Monitor
Moscow and Astana have reiterated their earlier pledges to boost bilateral economic and energy partnership. However, the two former Soviet states have proved slow to complete existing energy projects, while bilateral trade has also declined.
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BY: Konstantin Parshin | Eurasianet
A World Bank offer to underwrite an environmental feasibility study for the proposed Rogun hydropower project could mark a decisive moment in the Central Asian state’s efforts to become an electricity exporter.
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BY: Anatoly Medetsky | The Moscow Times
A deal that could allow Belarus to reduce its Russian oil imports likely overshadowed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's energy talks with the country Tuesday, possibly causing Russia to lose up to $1 billion in export duties a year.
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BY: Patrick Winn | Global Post
In an attempt to drive out Thailand's ruling party, protesters Wednesday splashed government offices with human blood collected during an all-day needle drive.
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BY: Juan Forero | The Washington Post
A new political party accused of having links to right-wing death squads gained important political ground in Colombia's congressional elections Sunday, raising concerns that ties between corrupt politicians and armed gangs remain strong, despite vigorous criminal investigations.
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BY: Shaun Waterman | ISN Security Watch
It has been more than a year since the Transportation Security Administration - the troubled agency charged with ensuring the security of US airports and airplanes - had a permanent leader, and the Senate is facing calls to quickly confirm President Obama’s new nominee.
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The London Times
Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon has called for shared US responsibility in the fight against the country’s drug gangs, after two US consulate employees were killed in the deadly border city of Ciudad Juarez on the weekend.
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BY: Teri Schure | World Press
Two months after a 7.3 magnitude quake struck Haiti on January 12, leaving approximately 230,000 people dead and more than 1.2 million people homeless, there are many questions.