Estudiantes stuns Cruzeiro, claims Copa

Estudiantes de La Plata shocked Brazilian home side Cruzeiro on Wednesday to capture South American club football’s greatest prize, the Copa Libertadores. The 2-1 win by Estudiantes marked the first Copa trophy claimed by the Argentinean team in 39 years, as it came from behind in a tense match that saw all goals scored in the second half.

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Brown defends UK fight in Afghanistan

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has defended the UK’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan following the British Army’s bloodiest day of the near eight-year conflict. Addressing lawmakers on Monday, Brown said the security of Afghanistan was crucial to preventing terrorist attacks elsewhere in the world

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Honduran government vows to keep deposed president out

Authorities here closed the airport and restricted the airspace over the nation’s capital in anticipation of deposed President Jose Manuel Zelaya’s announced return Sunday. In an interview from Washington with Telesur TV, Zelaya said he was departing for Honduras on a plane with United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto.

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Why Sarah Palin Quit

In bowing out as Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin harkened back to her high school basketball days — although there was no sign of the “Barracuda,” as she was nicknamed for her ability to cut through the opposing team’s offenses. In a hastily called press conference on the eve of a three-day holiday, Palin presented herself as a point guard exhausted by the “full court press from the national level.” The 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee explained how the metaphorical point guard should respond

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S.C. Attorney General to review Sanford’s travel records

The attorney general of South Carolina on Tuesday asked the state law enforcement division to review Gov. Mark Sanford’s travel records after the governor admitted to more visits with his mistress than previously disclosed. “In light of the governor’s disclosure of additional travel today, I have requested that SLED conduct a preliminary review of all Governor Sanford’s travel records to determine if any laws have been broken or any state funds misused,” Attorney General Henry McMaster said in a statement.

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Man City make ‘monster’ Eto’o offer

Big-spending English club Manchester City have made a "stratospheric" offer to Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, according to Barcelona president Joan Laporta. The 28-year-old, who has one year left on his contract with the Spanish and European champions, has long been linked with the Premier League club. He has previously said that a move to City did not interest him, but the club’s billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is determined to finance a deal for the player, who scored 36 goals in Barca’s treble-winning season.

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Powerful ex-President Rafsanjani remains quiet in election fallout

He’s a key Iranian politician whose name is on the lips of opponents, supporters and experts alike in the bloody aftermath of the Iran’s presidential elections. But despite the chaos that’s plagued the Islamic Republic for the past two weeks — even resulting in the brief detention of his daughter — former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has remained silent and largely unseen. The last time the world saw Iran’s assembled leadership was June 19, when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed the victory of hard-line incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the hotly contested June 12 election at Friday prayers.

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Argentina’s First Couple face election test

Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has held power since 2003, and Sunday’s midterm elections will prove pivotal to her hold on power. Much depends on how Fernandez’s husband — and predecessor — Nestor Kirchner fares in his race for a deputy’s seat in the nation’s lower house. Even though he has not been in office since December 2007, some analysts say he remains the most influential political figure in the nation and the person who still makes most important policy decisions for his wife’s government.

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Sanford plans to return to work Friday despite calls to resign

Embattled South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford plans to return to work Friday, despite calls for him to resign because of a sex scandal. “After spending Thursday with his family in Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, Governor Mark Sanford has returned to Columbia and plans on holding a Cabinet meeting on Friday,” his office told CNN by e-mail Thursday, a day after he admitted having an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman

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