ECONOMIC ISSUES: The talks will focus on joint projects to help the North, such as the development of industrial estates, roadworks, railways and natural resources
North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong-il arrived yesterday in South Korea for talks in the highest-level visit by a Pyongyang official to Seoul in 15 years.

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A controversial Muslim congressman was the target of a powerful bomb outside the Philippine House of Representatives that killed him and two others, police said yesterday.

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'Amakudari': : The opposition said the appointments echo a controversial practice of giving former officials cushy jobs after retirement in the fields they once served
Japan's opposition-led upper house of parliament yesterday voted down government appointments for the first time in 56 years, signaling confrontation amid a row over supporting the US-led "war on terror."

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A bomb shook a conference center near Tajikistan's presidential palace yesterday, killing a security guard and scattering debris, just as an EU-run conference was scheduled to start.

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Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state whose arrest by a UN-backed genocide tribunal had been widely expected, was admitted to a hospital in the capital for medical treatment after suffering a stroke, his daughter said yesterday.

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SARKOZY TARGETED: Most trains have stopped running, Parisian transit workers have walked off their jobs and electrical workers plan to cut power to local UMP offices
Striking transport workers slowed France to a crawl yesterday morning as unions and the government dug in for a pivotal standoff over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's bid to strip away labor protections he says are hobbling growth.

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NO BIG DEAL: The UN's nuclear watchdog agency has been demanding a copy of the document for two years, although its officials were allowed to view it earlier
Iran has handed over to the UN nuclear watchdog a document containing design information that could help make nuclear weapon parts, diplomats said on yesterday.

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Denmark's center-right government was re-elected for a third term as voters endorsed its policies to boost the economy and tighten immigration.

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The most visited local "landmark" for many British adults is their nearby do-it-yourself (DIY) store, a survey published yesterday said, which suggests the UK is a nation of reluctant explorers, with little sense of adventure and a poor understanding of geography.

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Fierce winds on Tuesday hampered crews struggling to clean up in the wake of a killer storm that sank at least 11 ships and split an oil tanker in two, spilling tonnes of petroleum in the waters between Ukraine and Russia.

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Germany's second most powerful politician, Vice Chancellor Franz Muentefering, has announced that he will resign from office. His departure is likely to destabilize the already shaky power-sharing coalition between the country's two biggest parties.

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HUGO AND THE KING: The king said his comments were 'spontaneous' and claimed the Venezuelan president was trying to distract attention from problems 'back home'
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday said Spain's King Juan Carlos showed a streak of "arrogance" when he told him to "shut up" during a presidential summit last week, as both governments strove to put the spat behind them.

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American students, even in low-performing states like Alabama, do better on math and science tests than students in most foreign countries, including Italy and Norway, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

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When presidential candidates appear at public forums, passions about the field are often on vivid display. On Monday, Senator John McCain received a question from a woman in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, that was blunt and harsh.

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SPORADIC EPISODES: Three separate incidents of violence killed a total of five people and wounded seven. One bomb targeted a passing US military convoy
A roadside bomb attack targeting a US patrol near the heavily fortified Green Zone killed two Iraqis and wounded three yesterday, security officials said while three US soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in northern Iraq.

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■ VIETNAM

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