Karzai, rivals debate as Afghan elections near

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, heavily criticized last month for skipping a candidates’ debate, met two of his political rivals in a nationally televised debate Sunday night, just four days ahead of the war-torn country’s presidential elections.

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Why Newt Gingrich Converted to Catholicism

Visitors to the Basilica of the National Shrine in northeast Washington often do a double take when they see Newt Gingrich and his familiar shock of white hair slip into a pew for the noon Mass on Sundays. The former Speaker of the House is known for many things, but religious zeal is not one of them. In fact, the social conservatives who fueled his Republican revolution in 1994 often complained about Gingrich’s lack of interest in issues like abortion or school prayer.

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1,300 still trapped after Taiwan typhoon

More than 1,300 people are still trapped in remote mountainous villages in southern Taiwan, victims of treacherous mudslides and floods from Typhoon Morakot, the country’s semiofficial Central News Agency said Saturday. Rescue officials quoted by the news agency said 1,373 were still trapped and 75 helicopters were scheduled to conduct rescue missions Saturday in the counties of Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taitung and Chiayi.

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Review: ‘Time Traveler’s Wife’ spreads love

"The Time Traveler’s Wife," adapted from the 2003 best-seller by Audrey Niffenegger, is one of those gooey romantic mind-benders, like "Ghost" (which I adored) or "The Lake House" (not so much), in which a couple must come to grips with some trippy impediment to their relationship, such as life after death or a hole in the space-time continuum. Only instead of being milked for elaborate science-fiction thrills, the problem at hand gets treated as a weepy and grandiose inconvenience

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Black politician targeted by German far-right

A black politician campaigning in eastern Germany has become the victim of a racist campaign by a far-right party. The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) says it is trying to persuade Zeca Schall, a German citizen who came from Angola 21 years ago, to leave the country. Schall is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, the party led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and has been named as a CDU expert for the integration of minorities.

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Typhoon survivor: Our house was like a boat

A survivor from the typhoon that devastated Taiwan told how she and her grandson were surrounded by rising water in their mountain village. The pair lived in Shao Lin, a village in the south wiped out by Typhoon Morakot which swept over Taiwan last weekend. Authorities said mudslides demolished more than 100 homes and killed a still unknown number of residents

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GOP at War With Itself in Florida Senate Race

While his Republican party has been flailing and losing and dwindling to its base, Florida Governor Charlie Crist has remained extremely popular by governing from the middle. He’s stocked his administration with Democrats, appointed a fairly liberal African-American Democrat to the state Supreme Court, expanded voting rights for felons, crusaded against global warming, and enthusiastically supported President Obama’s stimulus package. Crist’s crossover appeal — along with his powerhouse skills as a fundraiser and campaigner — has made him a heavy favorite to join the Senate in 2010.

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