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NBA Scraps Early Start of Upcoming Season

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 11:45 pm (UTC-5)
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The National Basketball Association has cancelled the first two weeks of the 2011-’12 regular season, after franchise owners and players failed to settle their dispute over a new collective bargaining agreement. The league announced the cancellations Monday after a seven-hour negotiation session in New York. NBA Commissioner David Stern told reporters the two sides are […]

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Study: Eating Chocolate Can Save Your Life

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 11:05 pm (UTC-5)
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A Swedish study has found that the more chocolate women said they ate – especially dark chocolate – the lower their risk of stroke. The Swedish study in the Journal of American College of Cardiology looked at 33,000 women and found that two chocolate bars per week appear to help reduce a woman’s chance of […]

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Hungarian Police Raid Warehouse of Prop Guns for Brad Pitt Movie

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 8:05 pm (UTC-5)
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Hungarian police Monday raided a warehouse of weapons to discover the guns were nothing more than props for a movie. The mock weapons are realistic-looking machine guns, hand guns and rifles. They arrived at the Budapest airport aboard a private plane. The prop guns are to be used in the upcoming horror film “World War […]

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Libya’s NTC: Gadhafi Loyalists Cornered in Sirte

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 8:00 pm (UTC-5)
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Libya’s revolutionary forces say they have loyalist fighters cornered in former leader Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte, where desperate civilians are still trying to flee the fierce street fighting. Burned-out vehicles blocked roads Monday as provisional government tanks and artillery pounded pro-Gadhafi positions that NTC fighters said were squeezed into two neighborhoods. On Sunday, National […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

OSCE: Recent Violence Against Roma Deeply Disturbing

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 7:25 pm (UTC-5)
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The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe calls recent violence against Europe’s Roma population deeply disturbing. OSCE national minorities chief Knut Vollebaek said Monday that violence and terror by extremists threaten the overall stability and credibility of a democratic Europe based on the rule of law. Vollebaek said the anti-Roma violence appears to be […]

Tags: , Posted in Europe

UN Expert Urges Reform of Thailand’s Royal Insult Laws

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 7:05 pm (UTC-5)
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A United Nations expert on freedom of speech is urging Thailand to amend controversial laws that prohibit defamation of the country’s royal family. The statement by Frank La Rue on Monday said the legislation encourages self-censorship and stifles important debates on matters of public interest. He added that the laws are overly broad and do […]

Top Syrian Cleric Warns of Suicide Bombs if West Attacks

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 6:55 pm (UTC-5)
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Syria’s top Sunni Muslim cleric has warned Western countries against military intervention, threatening to retaliate with suicide bombings in the United States and Europe if his country comes under attack. Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun gave a speech and told the U.S. and Europe that “we will prepare suicide bombers who are already in your […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

Italian Writer Who Exposed Mafia Wins British Literary Prize

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 6:25 pm (UTC-5)
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An Italian writer living in hiding under round-the-clock police protection for exposing the Mafia has won Britain’s 2011 PEN-Pinter International Writer of Courage Award. Roberto Saviano’s 2006 best-selling novel Gomorrah is an expose of the Naples Mafia. Millions of copies have been sold and it was also made into a movie. British playwright David Hare, […]

Tags: , Posted in Europe

Belgium Buys Subsidiary of Financially Troubled Dexia Bank

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 5:50 pm (UTC-5)
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Belgium is buying a subsidiary of the financially troubled Dexia bank, the first European bank heading toward possible collapse because of the regional debt crisis. The government says it is paying $5.4 billion for Dexia’s Belgian subsidiary. Members of Qatar’s royal family already have said they will pay $1.4 billion to buy the bank’s Luxembourg […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Economy

Anglican Chief Asks Mugabe to Stop Church Attacks

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 5:45 pm (UTC-5)
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The head of the worldwide Anglican church has asked Zimbabwe’s president to stop what he calls persecution of church followers in the country. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, met with President Robert Mugabe Monday during a two-day stop in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. Archbishop Williams said he presented Mr. Mugabe with a dossier describing abuses […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Africa