The Near Distance
The future may be nearer than we think!
| News headlines from around the world: |
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Italy in political turmoil as Berlusconi party implodes
Reuters: World News
ROME (Reuters) - Italy was in political turmoil on Friday after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dramatically split with his one-time most powerful center-right ally, putting the country at risk of early elections.
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Pakistan flooding death toll soars
BBC News - World
More than 300 people have been killed and nearly 400,000 displaced in floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in northern Pakistan.
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Eight killed as wildfires sweep central Russia
Reuters: World News
VORONEZH, Russia (Reuters) - Forest fires swept across central Russia on Friday, killing at least eight people and forcing the evacuation of thousands during the hottest summer since records began 130 years ago.
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Mexican army kills kingpin in drug war coup
Reuters: World News
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican soldiers killed drug boss Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel on Thursday, the first major triumph this year for President Felipe Calderon's war against drug cartels but one that is unlikely to end spiraling violence.
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Police question Bettencourt's wealth manager again
Reuters: World News
PARIS (Reuters) - The wealth manager of France's richest woman was again detained for questioning on Friday as part of an investigation into political donations and suspected tax evasion and money laundering, his lawyer said.
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'I survived deadly bear attack'
BBC News - World
A Canadian woman has said she played dead in order to escape from a bear during an attack in Montana that left one man dead.
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Syrian, Saudi leaders to tackle tension in Lebanon
Reuters: World News
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leaders of Syria and Saudi Arabia, paying an unprecedented joint visit to Beirut on Friday, will try to head off any conflict over a U.N.-backed tribunal which may indict Hezbollah members in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri.
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U.N. rights body tells Israel to end Gaza blockade
Reuters: World News
GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel must lift its military blockade of the Gaza Strip and invite an independent, fact-finding mission to investigate its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a United Nations rights body said on Friday.
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Fierce wildfires blaze in California
BBC News - World
California governor Arnold Schwazenegger has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles county where dozens of homes and buildings have been destroyed by wildfires.
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China to crack down on pro-Cantonese protesters
Reuters: World News
BEIJING (Reuters) - Authorities in China's southern city of Guangzhou will punish people who try and organize any more protests in support of the Cantonese dialect, a state-run newspaper said on Friday.
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Al-Shabab threatens AU peacekeepers
WN.com - International English News
The armed group leading the fight against Somalia's beleagured transitional government has warned that it will turn Mogadishu into a "graveyard" for extra African Union troops sent to the country. Al-Shabab, which has been accused of links to al-Qaeda, warned that a decision earlier this week to send extra troops to the Horn of Africa nation would only strengthen their resolve to overthrow the government. "The extra troops they said are planning to send here will not be different from those they deployed before. By the will of Allah, Mogadishu will be their graveyard, while their...
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Novel take on French home shortage
BBC News - World
Young French people having difficulty finding affordable housing are being given the chance to help older members of society and put a roof over their own heads.
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Greek dolphin park welfare row
BBC News - World
Animal welfare groups in Greece are calling for the closure of the country's first dolphinarium and urging schools not to visit the attraction.
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Hearts and mind hard to reach in Afghan valley
Reuters: World News
SAIDON KALACHEH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Defeating insurgents in Afghanistan's volatile Arghandab Valley would take time, but there were now enough U.S. and Afghan troops to defeat the Taliban, the area's U.S. commander says.
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WikiLeaks may have blood on its hands, U.S. says
Reuters: World News
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks may have blood on its hands, the Pentagon said on Thursday, warning its unprecedented leak of secret U.S. military files could cost lives and damage trust of allies.
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Neighbors fail to end Venezuela-Colombia rift
Reuters: World News
QUITO (Reuters) - South American foreign ministers failed to mend broken ties between Venezuela and Colombia at a meeting on Thursday but the countries agreed that irregular armed groups were hurting peace in the region.
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North Korea 'hit by severe floods'
BBC News - World
North Korea appears to be in the grip of massive floods after at least a week of torrential rain, according to reports on the country's state-run television station.
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US Senate's anger over Arlington
BBC News - World
As many as 6,600 graves at Arlington National Cemetery in the US could be mislabelled or unmarked, the cemetery's former superintendent has admitted.
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Pair wanted in US woman's death deported to Panama
WN.com - International English News
FILADELFO ALEMAN Associated Press Writer= MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaragua deported a U.S. couple to Panama, where they face charges of killing two Americans in a scheme to steal their property on a Caribbean archipelago popular with expatriates. William Cortez and his wife, Jane, were turned over to Panamanian police on Thursday, Nicaraguan deputy police chief Carlos Palacios said. The pair were arrested Monday at the border with Costa Rica and identified themselves with what authorities have called false names. They are charged with killing Cheryl Lynn Hughes, 53, and another man believed to be a U.S. citizen. Their bodies were found last week buried in shallow graves in the backyard of...
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Mars site may hold 'buried life'
WN.com - International English News
Researchers have identified rocks that they say could contain the fossilised remains of life on early Mars. The team made their discovery in the ancient rocks of Nili Fossae. Their work has revealed that...
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Puerto Rico struggles in the downturn
BBC News - World
With nearly one in five people unemployed, the economic future looks bleak in Puerto Rico.
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'Saffron King' acts as kitchen diplomat
BBC News - World
A man known as the "Saffron King" is making his own attempt at kitchen diplomacy for Iran.
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UK gets first new bank in 100 years
WN.com - International English News
London: Metro Bank, Britain's first new high street lender for over 100 years, opened its first branch to the public — and dogs — yesterday in a move aimed at shaking up the retail banking sector. Co-founded by billionaire US businessman Vernon Hill, Metro Bank hopes to tap into public dissatisfaction with traditional banks following the global financial crisis. The first branch opened in central London — offering dog biscuits to poodles...
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South Korean prime minister offers to resign
WN.com - International English News
Seoul: South Korea's prime minister offered to resign Thursday after parliament shot down his efforts to scrap a plan that would relocate several government ministries out of the capital. Chung Un-chan, an academic who was appointed in September, has led the charge to abandon the project, thought up by the...
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Karzai doubts allies plan to fight terror
WN.com - International English News
Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai questioned Thursday the willingness of his Western allies to strike insurgent bases in Pakistan given the strong evidence of alleged support in Pakistan for the Taliban. "The war against terrorism is not in the villages or houses of Afghanistan ... but in the sanctuaries, sources of funding and training (of terrorism), and they lie outside Afghanistan," he told a news conference in Kabul. "It is a different question whether...
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Trapped glacier water threatens French Alps valley
WN.com - International English News
LYON, France (Reuters) - A pocket of water big enough to fill 20 Olympic pools, trapped inside a glacier on Mont Blanc, could burst at any time and endanger lives in a French Alpine valley, officials said on Thursday. Researchers at...
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Karzai urges action on Pakistan
BBC News - World
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has suggested Western allies are unwilling to move against the Pakistan Taliban.
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Weakened Arizona immigrant rules still draw protests
WN.com - International English News
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona brought in a weakened anti-immigration law on Thursday after a U.S. court blocked its most intrusive provisions and analysts said the court ruling would stall similar tough legislation action in other states. Samuel Aldaraca holds a U.S. flag and a sign outside the Arizona's State Capital after U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked the most controversial sections of Arizona's new Senate Bill 1070 immigration law in Phoenix July 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Joshua Lott) Hispanic and labor activists, delighted by Wednesday's last minute ruling, pushed ahead with rallies in central Phoenix and scores of illegal day laborers touted for work openly in the city in defiance of...
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South Americans try to end Venezuela-Colombia rift
WN.com - International English News
QUITO (Reuters) - South American foreign ministers meet in Ecuador on Thursday to discuss broken ties between Venezuela and Colombia, with sparks likely over the two Andean nations' clashing plans to fix a crisis over leftist rebels. The gathering of the 12-member Union of South American Nations is the first encounter between the two governments since Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez severed relations last week over Bogota's charges his country harbors Colombian guerrillas in comfortable camps. Chavez has warned that close U.S. ally Colombia was planning a...
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Questions Swirl About Damaged Japanese Tanker
WN.com - International English News
Shipping officials said Thursday that they were examining the hull of a Japanese oil tanker that was mysteriously damaged this week as it traversed a strategically vital waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The ship’s owner has said that it may have been attacked. With the tanker docked in the United Arab Emirates, the owner and port officials puzzled over precisely what had shattered windows on the vessel, knocked off a lifeboat and punched a dent into its hull. The damage was apparently inflicted early Wednesday morning in the Strait of Hormuz, a passageway for shipping much of the world’s oil from the Middle East. Officials with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, the owner, said...
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Bollywood version of Austen's Emma
BBC News - World
A modern Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma is set to hit the big screen. Anna Holligan went to meet its stars.
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Citigroup Said to Pay $75 Million in Subprime Case
WN.com - International English News
Citigroup has agreed to pay $75 million to settle federal claims that it failed to disclose vast holdings of subprime mortgage investments that crippled the bank during the financial crisis, according to two people briefed on the settlement. Add to Portfolio Citigroup Inc Go to your Portfolio » In an unusual move, the Securities and Exchange Commission has also singled out two Citigroup executives — Gary L. Crittenden, the former chief financial officer, and Arthur Tildesley, the former head of investor relations — for omitting material information in disclosures to shareholders, according to the two people briefed on the deal. Mr. Crittenden has agreed to pay a $100,000...
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Pakistan monsoons kill at least 100
BBC News - World
With monsoons being heavier than normal, floods in north-west Pakistan have killed at least 100 people.
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Record temperatures in Moscow
BBC News - World
The record-breaking heatwave in Russia which began a month ago sparked fires across the country, including around the capital Moscow, which now lies under a thick layer of smog.
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Greek police clash with hauliers
BBC News - World
Greek police have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of lorry drivers protesting in Athens.
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Commonwealth concern in India
BBC News - World
As David Cameron visits one of India's Commonwealth Games venues, there are questions about whether the event is a wise way to spend so much money.
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Investigators seek clues to Pakistan air crash
WN.com - International English News
ISLAMABAD ' Pakistan on Thursday observed a day of mourning for the 152 people killed in the country's worst aviation disaster, as rescue workers searched for the aircraft's black box. Investigators hope the flight data recorder will give clues to the exact cause of Wednesday's crash which occurred amid heavy rain and poor visibility in the hills outside Islamabad. The government said all possible causes would be investigated, including terrorism, bad weather and sabotage, although officials gave no indication that an attack might...
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Pakistan mourns jet crash dead
WN.com - International English News
Pakistan has declared a day of mourning for the 152 people killed in the country's worst ever aviation disaster. The government has said all possible causes of the crash will be investigated although officials have given no indication that they suspect some kind of attack may have been to blame. On Thursday investigators were expected to continue their hunt for the crashed jet's so-called black box flight recorders, which they hope will give clues as to what caused the disaster. Airblue flight ED202 came down in bad weather on Wednesday morning in the Maragalla Hills, on its final...
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Greece orders striking lorry drivers back to work
WN.com - International English News
The Greek government has used a rare emergency order to force lorry drivers back to work after a three-day strike. The drivers...
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Catalonia's bullfight ban provokes emotional response
WN.com - International English News
The Catalan parliament voted to ban bullfighting in an emotional session packed...
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| What Do You Think? 09/05/2010 |  What Do You Think? |
Purpose
This website is here to provide a quick glimpse into our everchanging world that ordinary busy people may not get. We invite you to scan the headlines and use them as a tool to become aware of current world events. We hope to stir curiosity in our readers about our time and create space to unravel what all of these happenings may mean for each of us in the future.