World


Arab states cancel New Year festivities in solidarity with Gaza
CAIRO — Several Arab states have cancelled planned New Year celebrations in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who suffered a fifth straight day of Israeli bombardment yesterday. Egypt, Jordan and Dubai have all cancelled festivities including concerts by renowned Arab singers.

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New PM faces old problems
BRUSSELS — New Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy  addressed parliament yesterday a day after assuming the post, stressing his wish to rebuild confidence but espousing the policies of his predecessor, toppled by a banking scandal. Van Rompuy, a Flemish Christian Democrat like predecessor Yves Leterme and heading the same five-party coalition,...

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Defiant governor fills Obama’s senate seat
CHICAGO — The corruption-tainted governor of Illinois has defied Democratic party leaders by appointing a prominent African-American statesman to the senate seat of president-elect Barack Obama. Senate Democrats vowed not to seat former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris,....

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Columbia crew had no chance to survive: Nasa
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Astronauts on the shuttle Columbia were trying to regain control of their craft before it broke apart in 2003, but there was no chance of surviving the accident, a Nasa report says. From the crew’s perspective, the shift from what appeared to be a normal descent on February 1, 2003,....

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Queen’s New Year honours awarded
LONDON — Rock singer Robert Plant, fantasy author Terry Pratchett and Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton were all honoured by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth yesterday. The queen also granted awards to members of Britain’s Beijing Olympics team, including a knighthood for triple cycling gold medallist Chris Hoy,....

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Lobbyist sues NY Times over McCain ‘romance’
NEW YORK — A Washington lobbyist is suing The New York Times for an article suggesting she may have had an affair with Republican presidential contender John McCain, the daily said yesterday. The suit filed with a court in Virginia alleges that a February front page article in the Times "falsely communicated"....

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