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Fierce clashes as observers begin work in Syria

Syrian forces were locked in fierce gunfights with rebels in one city and shelled another on Monday, hours after UN peacekeepers arrived to oversee a truce aimed at ending a year of bloodshed. Full story

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Breivik goes on trial for killing 77 people

Right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik made a defiant farright salute to an Oslo courtroom Monday as his trial opened for the killing of 77 people in twin attacks in Norway last July. Dressed in a suit and wearing a gold-coloured tie, Breivik made the clenched fist salute after... Full story

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Kyrgyz man sets himself on fire

A 65-year-old man has died in Kyrgyzstan after setting fire to himself and saying in a suicide note he was ‘tired of protests’ that regularly hit the Central Asian country, police said Monday. Full story

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Civilians struggle amid Sudan-S Sudan battle

Fierce fighting at the border between Sudan and South Sudan is worsening an already grim humanitarian situation there, aid workers said on Monday, with a surge of refugees arriving in overstretched camps. Full story

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Titanic dead remembered, 100 years after tragedy

At sea and on land Sunday, wreaths were cast, memorials unveiled and people stood in silence to remember the 1,500 people who died in the sinking of the Titanic ocean liner a century ago. In Belfast, the city that built the Titanic, a memorial garden containing the first-ever... Full story

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UAE summons Iran envoy for island dispute

The United Arab Emirates has summoned Iran’s ambassador to Abu Dhabi to denounce a visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a disputed island in the Gulf, the official state news agency said on... Full story

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Obama wants inquiry into prostitution scandal

The US president, Barack Obama, said on Sunday the Secret Service would fully investigate reports that agents assigned to protect him in Colombia were caught with prostitutes, saying he would be angry if the... Full story

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Billion dollar project to supply water to Iran desert

Iran on Monday officially launched a $1-billion first phase of an ambitious project to pump water from the Caspian Sea to a city in its vast and expanding central desert, state media reported. Full story

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Clashes at beef-eating festival in south India

A beef-eating festival at a university in southern India triggered clashes between rival students as Hindu activists fought with low-caste Dalit groups who had organised the event. Full story

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Israel bars 80 pro-Palestinian activists

Israel has barred nearly 80 foreigners from flying into the country on grounds they were linked to a pro-Palestinian campaign, the police said on Monday, with 60 of them still awaiting deportation. As of midnight, police at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv had detained 78... Full story

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Two killed in India factory collapse, 20 trapped

At least two people were killed and more than 20 others feared still trapped on Monday after a blanket factory collapsed in northern India, a senior government official said. Full story

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Oklahoma tornadoes kill five

Clean-up efforts were underway across the Midwest on Sunday after dozens of tornadoes ripped across the region, killing five people in one Oklahoma town, three of them young girls, after storm sirens failed to... Full story

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Americas leaders end summit in discord

A Pan-American summit has ended in discord here as regional leaders failed to agree on Cuba’s inclusion in future summits in the face of US and Canadian opposition. US president Barack Obama... Full story

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Berlusconi trial witness details ‘Bunga Bunga’ party

Silvio Berlusconi hosted wild parties at his villa outside Milan including strip and lap dance shows nicknamed ‘The Bunga Bunga,’ a witness at the former prime minister’s trial said on Monday. Full story

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Pope turns 85, oldest pontiff in a century

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his 85th birthday Monday with visitors from his native state of Bavaria in Germany and is now the oldest pope since Leo XIII, who died in 1903 aged 93. Full story

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