ATLANTA – President Barack Obama vowed yesterday to make good on his promise to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq by the end of August, despite a dangerous political deadlock in Baghdad and a recent surge in militant violence.
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WASHINGTON – A U.S. judge ruled yesterday that the state of Virginia could proceed with its challenge to President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law, a setback that will force the White House to defend its reforms in the middle of a tough congressional election campaign.
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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said in an interview aired yesterday that the U.S. economy must grow faster and that unemployment is a “huge problem.”
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AQABA, Jordan – Rockets from Egypt’s Sinai, where Islamist militants have operated in the past, hit Israel’s and Jordan’s Red Sea port resorts yesterday, killing a Jordanian civilian and injuring three others, Jordanian and Israeli police said.
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PARIS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari yesterday to step up his country’s fight against terrorism, during a visit overshadowed by a spat between Pakistan and Britain.
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NOWSHERA, Pakistan – Islamist charities, some with suspected ties to militants, stepped in yesterday to provide aid for Pakistanis hit by the worst flooding in memory, piling pressure on a government criticised for its response to the disaster that has so far killed more than 1,000 people.
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JOHANNESBURG – Thousands of South African public service employees seeking higher wages have rejected a government salary offer, setting the stage for nearly 1 million workers to walk off the job this week.
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ATHENS – Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s victory against striking truck drivers will strengthen his resolve to confront trade unions opposed to the deep cuts he promised in return for an EU/IMF bailout.
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BAGHDAD – Saudi Arabia wants to play a bigger role in Iraq to counter Iran’s growing influence during a political stalemate in Baghdad, and to help Saudi companies to catch up with regional rivals in opening up the Iraqi market.
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MOSCOW – Wheat prices rose to 22-month highs yesterday as the worst drought in 130 years in major exporter Russia threatened to chop production, while a key lobby group cut its forecast for the country’s 2010 grain harvest.
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YANGON – A new political party in Myanmar says it will offer a democratic alternative to military proxies in upcoming elections after breaking with democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party refused to take part.
