YEONPYEONG – North Korea yesterday said it had put its armed  forces on full combat readiness in response to the start of  annual military exercises by U.S. and South Korean troops,  raising tension on the divided peninsula.
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WASHINGTON – Shares in stem cell companies soared,  scientists gushed and activists cheered yesterday as President  Barack Obama signed an order lifting eight years of restrictions  on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research.
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TEHRAN – Iran said yesterday the United States was failing  in Afghanistan and should recognise a new approach is needed,  four days after Washington said it would invite Tehran to a  conference to discuss its neighbour.