Jack's Newswatch

#1 — BBC | Greece hit by third general strike in a month

Public services and transport in Greece have ground to a halt as workers stage a third general strike in protest at the government’s austerity measures.

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#2 — BBC | Nigeria charges 49 over Jos killings

Nigerian police say 49 people are to be charged with murder after communal violence left scores of villagers dead.

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#3 — CNN | Pentagon trains workers to hack Defense computers

Washington (CNN) — The Pentagon is training people to hack into its own computer networks.

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#4 — Fox | Democrats, White House Close In on Health Bill

WASHINGTON — A final agreement nearly in hand, President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders are about to embark on one last sales job that will determine the outcome of the president’s signature health care overhaul.

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#5 — Fox | Chief Exorcist Says ‘Devil at Work’ Inside Vatican

Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican”, according to the Holy See’s chief exorcist.

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#6 — NY Times | Leaders in House Block Earmarks to Corporations

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders on Wednesday banned budget earmarks to private industry, ending a practice that has steered billions of dollars in no-bid contracts to companies and set off corruption scandals.

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#7 — DM | Brown’s £9bn Afghan blunder

Gordon Brown was branded ‘cheap’ yesterday by a former head of the Armed Forces as it was revealed he totally miscalculated the cost of the war in Afghanistan.

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#8 — Times | Arab League puts peace talks on the brink

Fresh attempts to revive peace talks in the Middle East were on the verge of collapse last night as the Palestinians threatened to pull out before the negotiations began.

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#9 — Times | Haiti presents Obama with $14bn vision of a rebuilt Caribbean paradise

Haiti’s President went to the White House yesterday with a vision of a Caribbean paradise waiting to be rebuilt after January’s catastrophic earthquake — and a price tag that could rise to $14 billion (£9 billion).

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#10 — Telegraph | French bread spiked with LSD in CIA experiment

A 50-year mystery over the ‘cursed bread’ of Pont-Saint-Esprit, which left residents suffering hallucinations, has been solved after a writer discovered the US had spiked the bread with LSD as part of an experiment.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | China’s exports see sharp increase

China’s exports jumped by 46% in February compared with a year ago, raising hopes of a strong recovery in global trade.

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#2 — BBC | LHC to shut down for a year to address safety concerns

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) must close at the end of 2011 for up to a year to address design and safety issues, according to an LHC director.

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#3 — Fox | 6 Killed in Attack on World Vision in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD —  Suspected militants armed with grenades attacked the offices of an international aid group helping earthquake survivors in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six employees and wounding several others, police and the organization said.

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#4 — Fox | Terror Suspect Killed in Raid is Bali Bombing Mastermind

JAKARTA, Indonesia  —  Indonesia’s president says a top-ranked Southeast Asian militant wanted for planning the 2002 Bali bombings has been identified as the man shot dead by police in a raid on the island of Java.

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#5 — NY Times | Somalia Food Aid Bypasses Needy, U.N. Study Finds

As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local United Nations staff members, according to a new Security Council report.

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#6 — NY Times | Attacks on Detainee Lawyers Split Conservatives

A conservative advocacy organization in Washington, Keep America Safe, kicked up a storm last week when it released a video that questioned the loyalty of Justice Department lawyers who worked in the past on behalf of detained terrorism suspects.

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#7 — Times | Britain made string of protests to US over Falklands row

British diplomats have expressed serious concerns to the US State Department at least three times over Washington’s response to the latest dispute over the Falkland Islands, The Times has learnt.

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#8 — Times | Hundreds held in pre-emptive Tibet crackdown

Hundreds of Tibetans have been rounded up in Lhasa and armed paramilitaries are patrolling the streets in the run-up to the anniversary of a bloody riot in 2008.

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#9 — Times | Seven Muslims arrested over ‘plot to kill cartoonist’

Seven people have been arrested in the Republic of Ireland over a suspected plot to kill a Swedish artist who portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a dog and had a $100,000 (£66,000) al-Qaeda bounty on his head.

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#10 — Telegraph | General election on May 6 ‘practically inevitable’

A May 6 general election is ”practically inevitable” and a ”no-brainer”, political commentators said as Gordon Brown announced March 24 as Budget day.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — BBC | Biden sees ‘moment of opportunity’ for Mid-East peace

US Vice-President Joe Biden has said there is a “moment of real opportunity” for peace between the Palestinians and Israel during a visit to the region.

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#2 — BBC | Hillary Clinton seeks Nigeria trial for Jos massacres

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Nigeria to arrest and try those responsible for killing hundreds of people near the city of Jos.

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#3 — CNN | Obama: Time to debate health care over

Glenside, Pennsylvania (CNN) — President Obama on Monday tore into private health insurers for recent rate hikes, taking a more aggressive rhetorical turn as he pushes for final congressional passage of his top domestic priority.

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Fox | Stupak ‘More Optimistic’ Abortion Fight Will End

#4 — Fox | Officer Helps Save Driver in Runaway Prius

EL CAJON, California — A California highway police officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car’s accelerator became stuck on a freeway near San Diego, authorities said.

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#5 — Fox | ACORN Registration Workers Charged With Felony Voter Fraud

Five Wisconsin residents, including two who worked for community organizing group ACORN, were charged Monday with election fraud relating to the 2008 presidential election.

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#6 — NY Times | Greek Leader Wants to Restrict Speculative Trades

WASHINGTON — The Greek prime minister called on Monday for the United States and the European Union to crack down on speculative trading, arguing that exotic bets had driven up Greece’s borrowing costs and threatened its effort to ease its debt crisis.

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#7 — DM | Facebook forced to warn members to use ‘extreme caution’

Facebook today issued an unprecedented warning after a teenage girl was lured to her death by a serial rapist she met online.

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#8 — Times | Bali bomber mastermind Dulmatin ‘killed in shoot-out’

The alleged mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings is believed to have been killed in a shoot-out with Indonesian police on the outskirts of Jakarta today.

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#9 — Times | France captures 35 ‘pirates’ in three days off the Somali coast

The French Navy has captured 35 suspected pirates in three days of operations off the coast of Somalia — the biggest haul in the two years since EU naval ships started patrolling the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

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#10 — Telegraph | True scale of violent crime rise revealed

Violent attacks are estimated to be 44 per cent higher than they were in 1998 after research on the way police record them allowed comparisons for the first time.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Nigeria religious clash ‘kills 500′ near Jos

Some 500 people are now reported to have been killed in a weekend revenge attack following religious clashes near Nigeria’s city of Jos, officials say.

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#2 — BBC | Strong earthquake hits eastern Turkey

A strong earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people, officials have said.

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#3 — BBC | Hurt Locker dominates the Oscars

Kathryn Bigelow has become the first woman to win the best directing Oscar, as her Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker took six prizes, including best film.

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#4 — CNN | Dems make no promises on WH timeline for health care bill

Washington (CNN) – Despite a call from the White House for health care legislation to pass this month, key Democrats on Sunday avoided any promises about how soon the next steps may come.

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Fox | Obama to Sell Public on His Health Care Plan

#5 — Fox | Romney Ties Decision on Presidential Bid to Outcome of November Elections

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney suggested Sunday that his decision on whether to run again for president may hinge on the outcome of the November midterm elections.

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#6 — NY Times | E.U. to Begin Press on Nuclear Standards

BRUSSELS — The head of the European Commission was to begin a push Monday for European safety standards for nuclear power plants to become binding worldwide, a development that might benefit France as it competes to sell its expensive technology and expertise against countries offering cheaper alternatives.

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#7 — Times | Cyberwar declared as China hunts for the West’s intelligence secrets

Urgent warnings have been circulated throughout Nato and the European Union for secret intelligence material to be protected from a recent surge in cyberwar attacks originating in China.

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#8 — Times | Millions of Iraqis defy bomb and rocket attacks to vote

Bomb blasts and grenade fire failed to deter millions of Iraqis from voting yesterday in an election crucial to the country’s fragile young democracy.

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#9 — Times | ‘Reasonable’ Darling offers cold comfort to Iceland creditors

Alistair Darling has said it was likely to be “many, many years” before Britain was repaid the £2.3 billion it is owed by Iceland after the collapse of Icesave.

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#10 — Telegraph | Hundreds more town hall staff to get police-style powers

Hundreds more town hall staff and private security guards are to be handed police-style powers in a fresh Home Office drive to create an army of civilian “spies”.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Iceland rejects plan to repay Icesave debts

Voters in Iceland have overwhelmingly rejected proposals to pay the UK and the Netherlands in the wake of collapse of the Icesave bank.

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#2 — BBC | Iraq parliamentary election hit by insurgent attacks

There has been a bloody start to Iraq’s second parliamentary election since the 2003 invasion, with at least 24 people being killed in attacks.

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#3 — Time | The Rise and Fall of a Female Captain Bligh

Women are so common in the upper ranks of the U.S. military these days that it’s no longer news when they break through another barrier. Unfortunately, the latest benchmark isn’t one to brag about: being booted as captain of a billion-dollar warship for “cruelty and maltreatment” of her 400-member crew. According to the Navy inspector general’s report that triggered her removal — and the accounts of officers who served with her — Captain Holly Graf was the closest thing the U.S. Navy had to a female Captain Bligh.

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#4 — Fox | Ban Ki-moon Tries Again on U.N. Efficiency

What is the definition of accountability? United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may be about to find out.

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#5 — NY Times | Taliban Battles Militant in Afghan Province

KABUL (AP) — Gunbattles between the Taliban and another Islamist faction have left at least 50 fighters dead in northeastern Afghanistan, as militants apparently fought over control of several villages where the government has almost no presence, officials said Sunday.

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#6 — DM | British taxpayers to fork out millions more in benefits for EU migrants

Taxpayers face paying millions of pounds in extra benefits to Eastern European immigrants because of changes to EU regulations.

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#7 — Times | SAS in Afghanistan suffers worst losses for 60 years

BRITAIN’S special forces have suffered the worst blow to their fighting strength since the second world war, with 80 members killed or crippled in Afghanistan.

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#8 — Times | Labour hid ugly truth about National Health Service (NHS)

DAMNING reports on the state of the National Health Service, suppressed by the government, reveal how patients’ needs have been neglected.

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#9 — Telegraph | Home Office launches secret review into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance

The Home Office has secretly begun a review that could lead to a fresh police inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

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#10 — Telegraph | RAF helicoptor pilot shot between the eyes by Taliban flies 20 to safety

An RAF helicopter pilot who was shot between the eyes by a Taliban bullet still managed to fly all 20 passengers to safety.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — BBC | Iceland holds referendum on Icesave repayment plan

Icelanders are going to the polls to vote on paying the UK and Netherlands after the collapse of the Icesave bank, with a resounding “no” vote expected.

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#2 — BBC | Chile sacks official over tsunami alert

Chile has sacked the head of its oceanographic service following the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

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#3 — CNN | CBO: $10 trillion jump in debt under Obama budget

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — If President Obama’s 2011 budget were put into effect as proposed, the U.S. federal government would add an estimated $9.8 trillion to the country’s accrued debt over the next decade, according to a preliminary analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.

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#4 — Fox | U.S. Hunts for Citizens Training With Terror Groups

LOS ANGELES – The top U.S. diplomat in Pakistan said Friday that the Obama administration does not know how many Americans might have disappeared overseas to train with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, but the number is not thought to be large.

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#5 — NY Times | Clinton Presses Region to Recognize Honduras

MEXICO CITY — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended a five-day tour of Latin America Friday with a lightning trip to Guatemala, where she promised Central American presidents more help to fight drug trafficking and repeated her call for more countries to recognize the new government of Honduras.

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#6 — DM | Don’t blame me for Iraq

Gordon Brown denied all responsibility yesterday for mistakes made in Iraq, prompting a backlash from military top brass and families of the war dead.

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Times | Ex-defence chief attacks Brown’s evidence to Iraq inquiry

#7 — Times | Drug gang made so much money it rotted in safes

A gang that became Britain’s biggest importers of high grade skunk cannabis made so much money that they left tens of thousands of pounds to rot in hidden safes.

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#8 — Times | Fate of first Arab democracy hangs in balance as Iraqis go to the polls

There are no greater supporters of democracy in Iraq than the printers: for weeks they have been working flat out to satisfy the demand for elections posters. In Baghdad alone, 150 of them expect to earn £4 million by covering the dusty streets of the capital with man-size images of the candidates, with their promises of a better future.

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#9 — Times | Yanukovych gives Russia a chance to keep Black Sea Fleet in Crimea

Ukraine’s new pro-Russian President offered the Kremlin a chance to retain a base for its Black Sea Fleet on his first visit to Moscow yesterday.

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#10 — Telegraph | Oarfish omen spells earthquake disaster for Japan

Japan is bracing itself after dozens of rare giant oarfish – traditionally the harbinger of a powerful earthquake – have been washed ashore or caught in fishermen’s nets.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Turkish anger at US Armenian ‘genocide’ vote

Turkey has reacted angrily to a US congressional panel’s resolution describing as genocide the killings of Armenians in World War I.

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#2 — BBC | South Africa black-owned farms ‘failing’

Some 90% of farms redistributed to South Africa’s black population from white farmers are not productive, the government has said.

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#3 — CNN | Pentagon gunman dies after shootout with police

Washington (CNN) — A man shot after he pulled out a weapon and opened fire on two Pentagon police officers died early Friday, authorities said.

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Times | September 11 conspiracy theorist opens fire at Pentagon

#4 — Fox | Obama Advisers to Recommend Military Tribunals for 9/11 Plotters

Top advisers to President Obama are close to a decision recommending that the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks be prosecuted in a military tribunal, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing unnamed administration officials.

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#5 — NY Times | I.M.F. Help for Greece Is a Risky Prospect

Greece skirted disaster this week by persuading investors and politicians that it is finally on track to fix its finances. But even before the dust settles, the government is setting the stage for a potential conflict with Germany, France and other European governments that may raise doubts about the sustainability of the euro project.

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Telegraph | Germany says Greece should sell islands to reduce debt

#6 — Times | Geert Wilders to show anti-Koran film in Lords

The Dutch anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders arrives in Britain today on the crest of an electoral triumph that could mean him entering government in a matter of months.

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Telegraph | Geert Wilders on course to be next Dutch prime minister

#7 — Times | Figures given out for China’s military spending are meaningless

The apparent slowdown in China’s military spending gives a distorted impression of the reality. Aware that its military capabilities must match its growing economic strength, the country is enhancing a range of technologies and ideas, conventional and non-conventional, to secure its place as the world’s emerging superpower. Cyber and space warfare are increasingly critical areas where Beijing is leading the way.

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#8 — Telegraph | EU draws up plans for first direct tax with fuel levy

The European Union is drawing up plans for its first direct tax with a “green” levy on petrol, coal and natural gas that could cost British consumers up to £3 billion.

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#9 — Telegraph | Switzerland to vote on appointing lawyers for abused pets

Switzerland, where flushing goldfish down the toilet is illegal, is preparing to vote on whether abused animals deserve lawyers.

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#10 — Telegraph | Brown to stop courts issuing arrest warrants for foreign officials

The Government is to announce plans to stop politically-motivated campaign groups using British courts to secure arrest warrants for visiting foreign officials.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — BBC | Singapore warns of threat to tankers in Malacca Strait

Singapore has learned that an unnamed group may be planning to attack oil tankers in the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

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#2 — BBC | Dutch anti-Islamists makes key gains in local elections

Preliminary results in Dutch local polls suggest an anti-Islam party has made major gains and may pose a serious challenge in June parliamentary polls.

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#3 — CNN | Toyota fix in question amid complaints

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Federal safety regulators said Wednesday they have received 10 complaints from drivers alleging sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles that have already been repaired under the automaker’s recent recall.

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#4 — Fox | Blue Dog Pack Threatens to Bail on Health Care

Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak says he’s counted 11 lawmakers plus himself willing to kill President Obama’s health care overhaul over abortion language.

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#5 — Fox | Starbucks Dragged Into Gun-Control Crossfire

Starbucks Corp. and some other chain stores in the U.S. are finding themselves caught in the middle of a firearms debate, as gun-control advocates go up against a burgeoning campaign by gun owners to carry holstered pistols in public places.

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#6 — NY Times | China Declares Slowdown in Military Spending

BEIJING — China’s official military budget will rise by just 7.5 percent in 2010, a government spokesman said on Thursday, a rate that is about half the increase in recent years and the first single-digit rise in military spending since 1989.

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#7 — DM | Gordon Brown ‘blunders cost every family £50,000′

Gordon Brown’s economic blunders have cost every family in Britain £50,000, the Tories claim today.

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#8 — Times | Rogue wave kills two on cruise ship in the Mediterranean

A 26ft rogue wave smashed into a cruise ship carrying nearly 2,000 people in the Mediterranean yesterday, smashing glass windshields and leaving two passengers dead.

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#9 — Times | Muslim woman refuses body scan at airport

A Muslim woman was barred from boarding a flight after she refused to undergo a full body scan for religious reasons.

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#10 — Telegraph | Hurricane Katrina victims to sue oil companies over global warming

Victims of Hurricane Katrina are seeking to sue carbon gas-emitting multinationals for helping fuel global warming and boosting the 2005 storm.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — BBC | Ethiopia famine aid ’spent on weapons’

Millions of dollars earmarked for victims of the Ethiopian famine of 1984-85 went on buying weapons, according to a BBC investigation.

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#2 — BBC | Greece awaits new round of tax rises and spending cuts

The Greek government is set to announce a third round of tax rises and spending cuts intended to ease the country’s financial crisis.

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#3 — CNN | Obama’s new health care reform plan to include GOP ideas

Washington (CNN) — In a last-ditch attempt to craft a bipartisan health care reform bill, President Obama will release a new proposal Wednesday that will include Republican ideas on tort reform and health savings accounts, according to Democratic officials familiar with the plans.

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#4 — CNN | Nissan recalls 540,000 trucks and minivans

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Nissan is recalling 540,000 vehicles worldwide to fix faulty brake pedal pins and inaccurate fuel gauges.

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#5 — Fox | Pakistan Army Takes Control of Al Qaeda Cave Network

Pakistani forces have taken control of a warren of caves that served until recently as the nerve center of the Taliban and Al Qaeda and sheltered Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command to Usama bin Laden.

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#6 — Fox | ‘Archaic’ Network Provides Data Behind Global Warming Theory, Critics Say

Critics are questioning the accuracy of a 120-year-old weather station network that measures surface temperature in the U.S. by tallying paper reports from volunteers whose data is rife with human error.

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NY Times | Scientists Taking Steps to Defend Work on Climate

#7 — DM | Stephen Hawking plans ‘to leave Britain over Government cuts in science’

Professor Stephen Hawking is planning to abandon Cambridge University after nearly 50 years and move to Canada in protest at Government cuts.

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#8 — Times | Major-General Richard Barrons puts Taleban fighter numbers at 36,000

The general in charge of persuading Afghan fighters to put down their weapons has estimated that there are as many as 36,000 insurgents, giving a rare appraisal of the fighting force at the command of the Taleban.

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#9 — Times | Argentina celebrates diplomatic coup

Argentina was celebrating a diplomatic coup yesterday in its attempt to force Britain to accept talks on the future of the Falkland Islands, after a two-hour meeting in Buenos Aires between Hillary Clinton and President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

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#10 — Telegraph | Madeleine McCann: more than 50 new leads

More than 50 potential new leads into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann surfaced last night as details of a previously unknown police file were released.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — BBC | Chile extends curfew to quell looting after earthquake

A curfew in Chile’s second city, Concepcion, has been extended until midday (1500 GMT) as troops struggle to contain looting after the earthquake.

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Fox | Tsunami Sweeps Away Entire Towns in Chile

#2 — BBC | Ice deposits found at Moon’s pole

A radar experiment aboard India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft has identified thick deposits of water ice near the Moon’s north pole.

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#3 — CNN | Indian women peacekeepers hailed in Liberia

(CNN) — They are trained in sophisticated combat tactics and weaponry, crowd and mob control, counter-insurgency. They patrol the streets of the Liberian capital, expected to keep the peace after years of war.

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#4 — Fox | ACORN Workers Cleared in NYC Pimp Video

NEW YORK — ACORN employees caught on video apparently advising a couple posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend to lie about her profession and launder her earnings did not commit a crime, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said Monday.

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#5 — NY Times | Somali Pirates Taking Trade to Terra Firma

MOGADISHU, Somalia — It seems that there is a new breed of pirate out there, inland pirates, and their new quarry is trucks, not ships, carrying food.

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#6 — Times | Ian Paisley to step down from North Antrim seat after 40 years as MP

Ian Paisley, for decades the towering figure in Northern Ireland’s political realm, has announced that he will not seek re-election in the forthcoming general election.

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#7 — Times | Clinton meeting with Kirchner adds to British unease over Falklands

A late change to Hillary Clinton’s travel plans resulted in a meeting in Buenos Aires last night between the US Secretary of State and President Fernández de Kirchner — giving the appearance of tacit US backing for Argentina in its dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands.

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#8 — Times | Net closes in on Microsoft as users are given freedom to explore

Surfing the internet on a personal computer used to mean becoming a Microsoft customer in the vast majority of cases. But the company’s dominance looks to be nearing the end.

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#9 — Telegraph | Fatwa issued against suicide bombing

The leader of a worldwide Muslim movement has issued a fatwa in Britain condemning terrorism and warning suicide bombers that they are “destined for hell”.

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#10 — Telegraph | China’s wealth gap the widest since economic reforms began

China has recorded its widest wealth gap since economic reforms began in 1978, a split that is a “serious threat to social stability”, the government has said.

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Popularity: 1% [?]