Stakes are high for U.S., China during Clinton visit

When Hillary Clinton visits Beijing this week, her Chinese hosts will closely watch her body movement and parse her every word. Her first trip here as the U.S. secretary of state comes in the shadow of the global financial crisis, the pressing North Korea nuclear issue and a warming planet

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Obama tackles thorny economic, military issues in Canada trip

President Obama visited Canada on Thursday in his first foreign trip as head of state, meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss a range of complicated economic and military issues. Obama and Harper discussed possible remedies for the global economic downturn, a new initiative to fight global warming and the ongoing struggle against Taliban and al Qaeda elements in Afghanistan, the leaders said during a joint news conference. The struggling economy was at the top of the agenda, with emphasis on the controversy surrounding the “buy American” clause in the recently passed U.S

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Australian fires burn as death toll rises to 208

The death toll from bushfires in southeastern Australia has risen to 208, the Australian Red Cross said Thursday. Five fires are still burning across the state of Victoria, a spokeswoman with the Country Fire Authority said

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Helicopter carrying 18 crashes off Scotland

A Super Puma helicopter went down with 18 people on board in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland Wednesday, a Royal Air Force officer told CNN. The helicopter ditched about 120 miles east of Aberdeen while approaching an offshore platform, said Barry Neilson, commander of the RAF’s aeronautical rescue coordination center at RAF Kinloss. The RAF was providing helicopter assistance to the Aberdeen Coast Guard.

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Obama: Troops alone cannot win in Afghanistan

Diplomacy will play a bigger role in U.S. efforts in Afghanistan in future even as the Pentagon announced a significant troop increase, President Barack Obama said Tuesday in an interview on Canadian television. “I am absolutely convinced that you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region solely through military means,” Obama told journalist Peter Mansbridge as part of a wide-ranging interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

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Obama approves Afghanistan troop increase

President Barack Obama has approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, Pentagon officials told CNN Tuesday. The new troop deployment is expected to include 8,000 Marines headquartered from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as well as 4,000 additional Army troops from Fort Lewis, Washington. “This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires,” Obama said in a written statement

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Pakistani woman watches Taliban take over town she loves

Gul Bibi and her three children fled the Taliban’s bloody interpretation of Islamic law in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, hoping one day to return. But now that the Pakistani government has recognized Taliban rule in the region in exchange for a temporary cease-fire, she said those hopes have been dashed. She warned that the government’s deal with the Taliban will have worldwide implications

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Bill Clinton: I should have better regulated derivatives

Former President Bill Clinton was in Austin, Texas, over the weekend to host the Clinton Global Initiative University, which encourages college students and administrators to come up with creative ways to address global issues. CNN’s John Roberts sat down with Clinton to ask him about how the Obama administration is performing, how his wife, Hillary Clinton, is doing as secretary of state, and what responsibility he may have for the current financial crisis. John Roberts: Mr.

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