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Updated: 3 hours 53 min ago

Despite Ruling, Israel Prevents Foreign Journalists From Entering Gaza

11 hours 20 min ago

The Ministry of Defense refused to allow foreign correspondents to cross over from Israel into the Gaza Strip on Monday, despite a court ruling, a representative of the foreign media in Israel said.

The Supreme Court had ruled last week that eight foreign correspondents could enter the Strip if the Gaza crossings were open to allow humanitarian relief.

On Monday, however, Israeli officials, citing security risks, prevented the journalists from entering the Strip when the crossings were opened to allow 200 foreigners to leave the salient.

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New US Embassy Inaugurated in Iraq

11 hours 34 min ago

Under tight security in Baghdad, US Marines have raised their flag over the world's largest American embassy.

During an inauguration ceremony on Monday, US officials said the $700m state-of-the-art complex will usher in a new era of relations with Iraq, which it invaded nearly six years ago.

The ceremony was held a day after a suicide bomber killed at least 38 people at a Shia shrine just 6km north of the new embassy.

On Monday, four bombs went off in different parts of Baghdad just before noon, killing four people and injuring 19 others.

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Open-Pit Mine Continues to Swallow City

11 hours 56 min ago

CERRO DE PASCO, Peru - An immense open-pit mine located 4380 metres above sea level is swallowing up the centre of the city of Cerro de Pasco in Peru's central highlands, while the damages, in the form of toxic waste, spread to nearby villages.

The government just signed a new law to relocate part of the local population, who for decades have suffered from the lead dust, dynamite explosions and toxic gases generated by the mining of zinc, lead and silver.

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Activist Unmasks Himself as Federal Informant in G.O.P. Convention Case

12 hours 23 min ago

When the scheduled federal trial begins this month for two Texas men who were arrested during the Republican National Convention on charges of making and possessing Molotov cocktails, one of the major witnesses against them will be a community activist who acted as a government informant.

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Stench in the Air: Scant Resources Stretched to Exhaustion

13 hours 43 sec ago

GAZA CITY - Fida Basal, 20, was not there when the missile struck her uncle's house the day after Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza. But her sister, Hanin, 18, was.

Fida found Hanin at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. One of Hanin's legs, her sister was told, had been amputated. "I want her leg now," Fida screamed at her mother. "God has no mercy. You get me her leg now."

Her uncle lost both legs.

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Proposal Would Ease Forest Development

13 hours 14 min ago

LOS ANGELES - The Bush administration appears ready to push through a change in Forest Service agreements that would make it far easier for mountain forests to be converted to housing subdivisions.

Mark Rey, the former timber lobbyist who heads the Forest Service, last week signaled his intent to formalize the controversial change before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

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Israel Rains Fire on Gaza With Phosphorus Shells

13 hours 36 min ago

JERUSALEM - Israel is believed to be using controversial white phosphorus shells to screen its assault on the heavily populated Gaza Strip yesterday. The weapon, used by British and US forces in Iraq, can cause horrific burns but is not illegal if used as a smokescreen.

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Urban Tool in Recruiting by the Army: An Arcade

13 hours 54 min ago

PHILADELPHIA - Amid the last-minute shopping bustle, the voice in the Black Hawk helicopter simulator shouted with an urgency that exceeded even the holiday mall frenzy.

"Enemy right! Enemy right!"

Triggers squeezed. Pixels exploded. Shopping waited.

At the Franklin Mills mall here, past the Gap Outlet and the China Buddha Express, is a $13 million video arcade that the Army hopes will become a model for recruitment in urban areas, where the armed services typically have a hard time attracting recruits.

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