Reuters World News Highlights

SEOUL – North Korea sounded a bellicose note in its first  communication with the outside world since the death of leader  Kim Jong-il, saying its confrontational stance against South  Korea would not change and labelling its opponents “foolish”.
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 MADRID – Spain’s new government said yesterday that this  year’s budget deficit would be much larger than expected and  announced a slew of surprise tax hikes and wage freezes that  could drag the country back to the centre of the euro zone debt  crisis.
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 DES MOINES, Iowa – The long and sometimes quirky drama of  electing a U.S. president, marked by obscure rules and long-held  traditions, begins on Tuesday in more than 800 schools,  libraries, churches and homes across Iowa.
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 TEHRAN – Iran will fire long-range missiles during a naval  drill in the Gulf today, a semi-official news agency  reported, a show of force at a time when Iran has threatened to  close shipping lanes if the West imposes sanctions on its oil  exports.
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 GAZA/JERUSALEM – Israel killed the leader of an al  Qaeda-inspired faction in the Gaza Strip yesterday, accusing him  of involvement in firing rockets and a planned attack on the  Jewish state from the neighbouring Egyptian Sinai.
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 MURMANSK, Russia – Russia said yesterday it had doused a  raging blaze aboard a nuclear submarine after nearly a full day  and night, by partially submerging the vessel after battling the  flames with water from helicopters and tug boats.
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ABUJA – Nigerian security services are considering making  contact with moderate members of shadowy Islamist sect Boko  Haram via “back channels”, even though explicit talks are  officially ruled out, the national security adviser said yesterday.