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BY: William J. Broad, Mark Mazzetti and David E. Sanger. | The New York Times
American officials said that Iran halted warhead design efforts in 2003, a conclusion they reached after penetrating Iran’s computer networks and gaining access to internal government communications. This judgment became the cornerstone of the 2007 intelligence report, which drew sharp criticism from Europe and Israel, and remains the subject of intense debate.
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BY: Pamela Constable | The Washington Post
As American troops move deeper into southern Afghanistan to fight Taliban insurgents, U.S. officials are expressing new concerns about the role of fugitive Taliban leader Mohammad Omar and his council of lieutenants, who reportedly plan and launch cross-border strikes from safe havens around the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.
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BY: Daniel McDowell | World Politics Review
After two days of high-profile meetings and deliberation last week, the G-20 managed to make official something everyone already knew: the United States and Europe can no longer effectively manage the whims of the global economy on their own.
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BY: Robert Satloff | The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
With apologies to Winston Churchill, President Obama may not have presided over the beginning of the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last week in New York, but he seems finally to have marked the end of an embarrassing beginning to his Middle East diplomacy.
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BY: Adam Gonn | The Media Line
While the Gulf has seen tremendous economic development since the discovery of oil, there’s one important resource, which has not been able to keep apace: fresh water.
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BY: Julien Barnes-Dacey | The Christian Science Monitor
Occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, the fertile territory on the Sea of Galilee's western shores is prized by both countries for its agriculture, high ground that serves as a military lookout, and abundant water; about one-third of Israel's fresh water supply currently comes from the Golan. Syria insists on the return of the full territory in exchange for peace.
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BY: Nadi Bakri | The Washington Post
Explosions across Iraq on Monday killed at least 15 people and wounded many others, police said, further testing the ability of the Iraqi armed forces to keep the country safe.
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BY: Giles Whitell | The London Times
The White House has ended weeks of hesitation over how to respond to the Afghan election by accepting President Karzai as the winner despite evidence that up to 20 per cent of ballots cast may have been fraudulent.
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BY: Barry Bearak | The New York Times
Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court tossed out terrorism charges against the prominent human rights activist Jestina Mukoko on Monday, ruling that she herself had been terrorized when state security agents abducted and tortured her.
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BY: Stephanie McCrummen | The Washington Post
The volatility of this East African nation -- from the Darfur conflict to the threat of renewed civil war in the south -- is becoming a test of how President Obama will reconcile a policy of engagement with earlier statements blasting a government he said had "offended the standards of our common humanity."
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BY: Peter Foster | The Telegraph
China is seeking to massively expand its African oil reserves by bidding for up to a sixth of Nigeria's crude reserves, according to a leaked letter from the office of the President of Nigeria.
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BY: Tom Peck | The Independent
At least 58 people were killed when Guinean security forces fired into the crowd at an opposition rally at a football stadium yesterday, according to a human rights organisation in the country.
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BY: Megan K. Stack | Los Angeles Times
It hardly seems to matter anymore that Poles had long been leery of playing host to U.S. missile interceptors aimed at defending against long-range threats from Iran. Washington's decision to back out of the missile shield agreement forged by the Bush administration -- and opposed by Russia -- has evoked memories among Poles of Cold War helplessness, of being brushed aside as casualties of great power politics.
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BY: Bryan coll | Time
In June 2008, Irish voters roundly rejected the treaty in the only national referendum to be held on it, sinking the hopes of E.U. backers across the continent. In the 15 months since that vote, however, Ireland's fortunes have changed dramatically in the global recession, and the government and many prominent business leaders are now urging residents to vote yes, saying this may be the only way to ensure the Celtic Tiger bounces back.
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BY: Ellen Barry | The New York Times
After a lengthy inquiry, investigators commissioned by the European Union are expected to conclude that Georgia ignited last year’s war with Russia by attacking separatists in South Ossetia, rejecting the Georgian government’s explanation that the attack was defensive, according to an official familiar with the investigators’ work.
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BY: Colum Lynch | The Washington Post
The Obama administration pledged Monday to increase humanitarian assistance to Burma and start its first detailed talks with Burmese authorities in an effort to build better relations with the reclusive military junta.
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BY: Jody Ray Bennet | ISN Security Watch
North Korea’s illicit arms trade supplies anxious buyers willing to risk shipments that travel hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles through the high seas.
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BY: Peter Gelling | Global Post
Aceh, Indonesia’s northernmost province, has this month been compared to Somalia, Nigeria and even Iraq. Forget what you've heard about "creeping fundamentalism." It's not true.
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BY: Elisabeth Malkin and Ginger Thompson | The New York Times
The de facto government backed off Monday from its attempt to shut down protests and limit free speech after congressional leaders warned that they would not support the measure.
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BY: JIm Wyss | The Miami Herald
When it comes to crafting Cuba policy, Congress has been in the back seat of late. The sweeping new rules released last month that loosen the 49-year-old U.S. embargo against the island came from the executive branch and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.