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US Lawmaker: Iran May Have Hundreds of Hezbollah Operatives in United States

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 3:20 pm (UTC-5)
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The Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Peter King, said the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah may have hundreds of operatives based in the United States, and he said Hezbollah, and not al-Qaida, poses the greatest terrorist threat to Americans. King held a hearing Wednesday with former government officials testifying. VOA congressional correspondent Cindy […]

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U.S. Suspending Military Recovery Efforts in North Korea

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
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The United States says it is suspending efforts to recover the remains of its service members in North Korea. This follows Pyongyang’s announcement last Friday it plans to go against international agreements and launch a rocket. The U.S. project was designed to bring home remains left in North Korea after the Korean military conflict that […]

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Dutch Parliament to Investigate Church Castration Reports

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 2:35 pm (UTC-5)
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The Dutch parliament has called for an investigation into reports that Catholic clerics ordered castrations of boys in the 1950s in an attempt to cure their homosexuality. Dutch lawmakers discussed the issue Tuesday after a report in the local newspaper NRC Handelsblad said more than 10 boys from a Catholic boarding school had been castrated. […]

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Rising Gas Prices Fuel Obama’s Western Road Trip

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 2:15 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. President Barack Obama is swinging into action, trying to rally support for his energy policies as rising oil prices take an ever deeper bite out of the average American’s paychecks. Mr. Obama embarked on a two-day, four-state tour Wednesday to promote his efforts to make the United States less dependant on foreign oil and […]

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US Home Sales Rebounding

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 1:30 pm (UTC-5)
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The U.S. housing market has been the weakest link of the country’s economic recovery from its recession, but new sales totals show the industry is rebounding. Banks assumed ownership of millions of houses in the United States in the last few years as homeowners, many of them laid off from their jobs, were unable to […]

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Unrest in Mali Capital; Radio, TV Off Air

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 1:25 pm (UTC-5)
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State radio and television have gone off the air in Mali’s capital, where soldiers launched a protest Wednesday against the government’s handling of a rebellion. Soldiers stormed the state broadcaster after demanding better weapons to fight ethnic Tuareg rebels who have seized several towns in Mali’s remote northern desert region. Witnesses tell VOA that guards […]

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US Welcomes Burma’s Invitation to Observe April 1 Balloting

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
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The United States says it has accepted Burma’s invitation to send two election observers and three journalists to monitor and report on upcoming by-elections in the Southeast Asian nation. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, speaking Wednesday, praised the invitation, calling it a “welcomed first step” by Burma’s new government as it seeks to restore […]

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China Orders Communist Loyalty Oaths for Lawyers

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 12:25 pm (UTC-5)
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China’s Justice Ministry has for the first time ordered lawyers to take a loyalty oath to the Communist Party, in a move that is raising the ire of human rights lawyers who defend critics of the authoritarian Beijing government. In a notice posted Wednesday on its Website, the ministry said first-time applicants and lawyers seeking […]

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French Police Negotiate Surrender of School Shooting Suspect

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 12:15 pm (UTC-5)
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French police are negotiating the surrender of a man suspected in the shooting deaths of seven people, including three Jewish children at a school in Toulouse. Officials say the suspect is 24-year-old Mohammed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, who claims to have links to al-Qaida. A French prosecutor says Merah spent time in Pakistan […]

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Romney Wins Illinois, Santorum Focuses on South

Posted March 21st, 2012 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
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U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has increased his lead in the race for the party nomination, while his closest rival focuses on an upcoming contest in the conservative South, where Romney has struggled to win support. Romney scored a convincing victory Tuesday in the Republican primary in the state of Illinois. With nearly all […]

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