Sudanese government, rebels in peace talks

The Sudanese government and a rebel faction in the country’s troubled Darfur region have agreed to embark on talks that many hope will eventually end a six-year conflict that has killed about 300,000 people, Qatari media reported Tuesday. The government and representatives of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) will sign an initial agreement Tuesday on confidence-building measures, Qatar’s official news agency, SUNA, quoted the country’s prime minister as saying

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Why the 2010 Census Stirs Up Partisan Politics

When Republican Senator Judd Gregg announced on Thursday that he no longer wished to be the Commerce Secretary nominee, he said that the decision was based in part on serious disagreements with the Obama White House over the 2010 census. That night on Fox News, Sean Hannity called Obama’s plans for the census process “the biggest White House power grab ever,” as his guest Karl Rove voiced agreement. The same day, House Republicans declared that the White House had “an unprecedented plan” for the census that “will taint results and open doors to massive waste of taxpayer funds.” It may sound surprising to those who don’t consider the decennial headcount a red-hot political matter, but the census has become the controversial subject of an ongoing power struggle between Democrats and Republicans.

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World’s richest countries pledge to fix economy

The world’s richest countries committed to "any further action that may prove necessary" to restore confidence in the global financial system, their finance ministers said as they wrapped up a two-day meeting in Rome. The Group of Seven finance ministers also urged countries not to close their markets to goods and services from abroad. “An open system of global trade and investment is indispensable for global prosperity,” they said in a statement at the end of their meeting Saturday.

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UAE denies visa to Israeli tennis player

The United Arab Emirates has refused to grant a visa to a female Israeli tennis player, preventing her from competing in the Sony Ericsson World Tennis Association Tour in Dubai, the WTA said in a statement Sunday. The move runs counter to WTA policy, which says no player should be barred from competing in a tournament for which she has qualified

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Search for answers begins in Buffalo plane crash

The pilots of a commuter airliner that crashed late Thursday about 6 miles from a Buffalo, New York, airport discussed "significant ice buildup" on the plane’s wings and windshields before the plane plunged to the ground, killing 50. Continental Connection Flight 3407 was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo Niagara International Airport when it went down about 10:20 p.m. ET Thursday.

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Lebanon: Thousands mark Hariri’s assassination

Thousands gathered in downtown Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square Saturday to mark the fourth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination, a traumatic event in the nation’s post-civil war history. Hariri died on Feb. 14, 2005 in a powerful explosion that left a 10-foot crater in a street in downtown Beirut, unleashing massive anti-Syria protests in what became known as the Cedar Revolution

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Arrests made after tainted medicine kills 84 children

Twelve people were arrested in connection with a tainted teething medicine that killed at least 84 children in Nigeria, authorities said Thursday. The medicine was found to contain a solvent typically found in antifreeze and brake fluid, authorities said

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