Dust storm sweeps southern Australia

A massive dust storm swept through parts of southern Australia on Wednesday, bathing them in a reddish haze and prompting health officials to warn asthma patients to take cover. Susan Paget marveled at the eerie red view from the balcony of her apartment in Manly, a suburb of Sydney, and said she took the day off work to avoid the dust storm mess

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Birth defects on the rise in China

The number of birth defects in China are on the rise and the rate has nearly doubled in the past decade in Beijing and several provinces, a state-run newspaper reported Tuesday. The five-time winner went into Monday night’s final at the top of his game, having re-established himself as the top player in the world this year after losing his No.

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Guatemala declares calamity as food crisis grows

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom has declared a state of national calamity because so many citizens do not have food or proper nutrition. Speaking in a nationally televised address late Tuesday, Colom said his declaration will make it easier to get food to the thousands of Guatemalan families who are in dire need

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‘In Any War, Mistakes Happen on the Ground’

TIME sat down with Sudan’s President Hassan Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum two weeks ago. In March, the International Criminal Court indicted Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict in Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died since 2003. The interview — his first with the American newsmedia since the ICC’s arrest warrants were issued — was conducted in collaboration with “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” on PBS

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Juarez’ Mayor: Running the Most Dangerous City in the Americas

Jose Reyes Ferriz, mayor of the Mexican border city of Juarez, presides over what may be the western hemisphere’s most dangerous town, certainly the hardest hit by Mexico’s drug-war terror. Since the start of last year, Juarez has seen almost 2,000 drug-related murders

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