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World |
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| Iraq to negotiate with UK on troop pullout timetable |
| BAGHDAD — Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al Rubaie said yesterday that his country will start negotiations with Britain on having an agreement for the withdrawal of British troops from the country. “Iraq will start a series of negotiations with the British side to sign a deal on the withdrawal of British forces and the deal will be referred to parliament to pass it........ |
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| Sudan census results delayed |
| KHARTOUM — Sudan’s key census results will not be released until at least February, its organiser said yesterday, a hold-up that raises fears for the timing of coming elections. The census is a cornerstone of a 2005 peace deal that ended two decades of north-south civil war, and will define the constituencies for the country’s first democratic poll in more than twenty years......... |
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| Strong quake hits Iranian island in Gulf, 2 injured |
| TEHRAN — A strong 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted part of Qeshm island in the Gulf off Iran’s southern Hormozgan province at 17:06 pm yesterday, state television reported. According to the student Isna news agency, the quake on the outskirts of Dargahan, a small town on the island, injured two people. “Two people from Zinbi village were hurt................ |
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| Obama picks Powell critic for veterans affairs |
| CHICAGO — US President-elect Barack Obama has selected retired Gen Eric Shinseki, who clashed with the Bush administration over the number of troops needed in Iraq, to be the next secretary of veterans affairs. Obama’s announcement was made in a television interview taped on Saturday that was to be aired in full yesterday. |
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| Positive change to US-Cuba ties seen |
| WASHINGTON — After decades of tense ties, President-elect Barack Obama has an opening to bring change to relations between uneasy neighbours Cuba and the United States. Washington and Havana do not have full diplomatic ties. And the United States has had a full economic embargo on Cuba since 1961. |
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