Less than two weeks after being punished with new U.N. sanctions, North Korea has sent its ceremonial head of state and two top economic officials to Singapore and Indonesia on a trip that appears aimed at drumming up outside investment.
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Can Singapore serve as economic model for NKorea?
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Sceptical Algerians abstained in large numbers from a parliamentary election on Thursday which the country’s ruling elite hoped would help them claw back credibility after Arab Spring revolts left them looking out of touch. Last year’s upheavals in the region, though they largely passed Algeria by, have created pressure for reform and a renewal of the ageing establishment that has ruled without interruption since independence from France half a century ago. …
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Scepticism main challenger in Algerian election
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyans began registering on Tuesday to vote in June elections for a national assembly, as the country prepared for its first free polls following the removal of Muammar Gaddafi. One registration centre at a Tripoli school was closed after armed former rebel fighters turned up in pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. About 1,500 registration centres have been set up across the country for the landmark polls, after which Libya will have a new constitution. …
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Libyans register to vote in landmark elections
Pakistan blocked the head of an airline whose jet crashed near the capital from leaving the country and ordered him into protective custody on Saturday as it began an investigation into its second major air disaster in less then two years.
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Pakistan moves against airline after crash
The tour manager who was widely credited with saving the lives of country duo Sugarland before a deadly stage collapse at last summer’s Indiana State Fair has become a central focus of lawyers seeking millions in damages for the families of seven people who died and dozens who were injured.
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Tour manager may be key to stage collapse lawsuits
A U.N.-brokered cease-fire for Syria appeared to collapse on Sunday, two days before it was to go into effect, as the government demanded new conditions that the main rebel group swiftly rejected.
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Syrian cease-fire deal appears to collapse
With the multistate Mega Millions jackpot set to reach a world-record $540 million Friday, lottery players across the country are wondering if there’s a way to guarantee becoming an overnight multimillionaire.
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Odds of winning record lottery jackpot 1 in 176 M
Families canceling vacations. Fishermen watching their profits burn up along with their boats’ gasoline. Drivers buying only a few gallons of gas at a time because they can’t afford to fill the tank.
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Unhappy public not sure who to blame for high gas
Peru has canceled a port call by a British navy frigate in solidarity with Argentina, citing the country’s long-running dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands.
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Peru nixes British frigate visit, citing Falklands
The Obama administration is seeking to put the best face on an Afghanistan policy called into question by the apparent shelving of talks with insurgents and announcement from the U.S.-backed government in Kabul that it will not support the fielding of U.S. forces deep into rural villages, a key goal of the current military strategy.
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US holds out hope for Afghan reconciliation talks