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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Economy puts bite on shark attacks, researcher says

Shark attacks on humans were at the lowest levels in half a decade last year, and a Florida researcher says hard economic times may be to blame. Sharks attacked 59 people in 2008, the lowest number of attacks since 57 in 2003, according to George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, part of the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. There were 71 attacks in 2007

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U.S. lawmakers visit Gaza for first time in 8 years

A U.S. congressional delegation visited Gaza Thursday, marking the first time that American lawmakers have entered the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory in eight years, according to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem.

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Afghanistan, trade on table as Obama visits Canada

President Obama takes his first foreign trip as head of state Thursday when he travels to Canada. And though he enjoys an 81 percent approval rating north of the border, Obama is expected to tackle several explosive issues with America’s largest trading partner. • The war in Afghanistan: Canada has about 2,800 troops in Afghanistan, but Parliament has voted to pull them out by 2011.

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Stanford saga prompts run on banks

Politicians and banking regulators across Latin American and the Caribbean called for calm Wednesday after panicked investors pulled their money from banks owned by the Stanford Group, whose owner is accused in a multibillion dollar investment and sales fraud scheme.

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U.S. to push for more NATO help in Afghanistan

Having just upped the ante in Afghanistan by 17,000 troops, the United States will look for greater commitments from its NATO partners this week, but isn’t expecting much of a response. “I think the likelihood of getting the allies to commit significant numbers of additional troops is not very great,’ U.S.

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Will Obama convince allies to help out in Afghanistan?

As the debate plays out about whether President Obama’s decision to send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan will help ease the increase in Taliban insurgency, the president is reaching out to allies for help. Obama said in an interview on Canadian television Tuesday that diplomacy will play a bigger role in U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.

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Court: Chinese at Guantanamo can’t be freed in U.S.

A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that 17 native Chinese Muslims in military custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot be released into the United States. The three-judge panel concluded by a 2-1 vote there is no legal or constitutional authority for the detainees to be immediately freed, even though they are unlawfully detained and no country is willing to accept them

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Israel demands release of missing soldier

Israel on Wednesday demanded the release of an Israeli soldier seized by militants more than two years ago as a condition of lifting its economic blockade on Gaza, a government spokesman said. Gaza’s Hamas leadership rejected the decision by Israel’s Security Cabinet to link the release of Gilad Shalit to the lifting of the blockade.

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Deport radical cleric Abu Qatada, orders UK court

The UK’s highest court Wednesday ordered that the man known as Osama bin Laden’s spiritual ambassador to Europe be deported to Jordan, despite claims that he faces torture, local media have reported. The court also ordered that two Algerians, known only as “RB” and “U,” be deported to Algeria. Radical cleric Abu Qatada, also known as Omar Othman, has been engaged in a long-running campaign to remain in the UK since he arrived 16 years ago.

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