Airport uses radar, noise to prevent bird strikes

The next time you land safely in Seattle, you may want to thank Steve Osmek. He’s the wildlife biologist whose job is to make sure that birds don’t get in the way of airplanes arriving and departing Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Even though the bird strikes that recently caused US Airways Flight 1549 to lose both engines and land in New York’s Hudson River has brought greater urgency to the issue, the danger presented by avian life is nothing new to Sea-Tac.

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Tsvangirai sworn in as Zimbabwe PM

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister of Zimbabwe Wednesday as part of a new unity government that Zimbabweans hope will signal an end to the political and economic crises that have gripped the nation for months. The unity government is the result of a power-sharing agreement reached in September between Tsvangirai — the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) — and President Robert Mugabe after months of squabbling about the results of elections earlier in the year

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Tsvangirai to be sworn in as Zimbabwe PM

The streets in many parts of Zimbabwe wore a festive look Wednesday morning as the nation prepared to swear in opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister. The post was specifically created for Tsvangirai as part of a unity government that Zimbabweans hope will signal an end to the political and economic crises that have gripped the nation for months.

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France’s Sarkozy in Iraq to rebuild ties

French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a surprise visit to Baghdad Tuesday on a trip seen as aimed at raising his country’s stake in Iraqi reconstruction and easing frictions with Washington over the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. Sarkozy, the first French president to visit the country, met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during the brief trip ahead of a tour of Gulf states. The French leader described his visit as a vanguard of French economic involvement in rebuilding Iraq and an attempt to strengthen European ties

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Obama: U.S. looking for dialogue with Iran

The United States is looking for opportunities for "face-to-face" dialogue with Iran after nearly three decades without diplomatic ties, President Barack Obama said Monday, but still has "deep concerns" about Tehran’s actions. “There’s been a lot of mistrust built up over the years, so it’s not going to happen overnight,” Obama said during his first prime-time news conference Monday night.

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Iranian lawmaker hopes ‘Americans change their strategy’

Iran’s powerful parliament speaker said Monday the Islamic nation hopes the United States changes its approach to the Middle East, and called the Obama administration "an exceptional opportunity for Americans." “I don’t want to be pessimistic. I hope the Americans change their strategy and respect the nations,” said Ali Larijani in a wide-ranging interview with CNN affiliate Cuatro TV in Spain

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Liberians facing mass deportation from U.S.

Thousands of Liberians living in the United States face deportation March 31 when a federal immigration status created for humanitarian purposes expires. In the 1990s, a bloody civil war raged through the West African nation, killing 250,000 people and displacing more than a million, according to a U.N. report.

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Poll finds Obama more popular than his stimulus package

A new national poll suggests that three out of four Americans approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, but the economic stimulus package he’s trying to push through Congress is not nearly as popular. Seventy-six percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday gave Obama a thumbs-up on how he’s performing his duties, while 23 percent disapproved.

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