CORRUPTION: The allegations, which could involve other officials, risk making it more difficult for the prime minister to enact a new bill on a stalled naval mission
Two of Japan's former defense chiefs, including one who is now finance minister, were accused yesterday of dining with a military contractor in a corruption scandal that has rocked political circles.

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'FIND THE KILLERS': The reporters, who gathered outside ministry buildings, have not been charged but remain in custody because they were protesting in a restricted area
Nepalese police detained 25 protesting journalists who were demanding that the government find and punish three former rebels who allegedly killed a reporter.

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North Korea agreed in principle to formally open a reconnected railway for regular cargo service across its heavily armed border with South Korea before the end of the year, an official said yesterday.

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Ten of thousands of coastal villagers took shelter yesterday as a cyclone approached Bangladesh's southwestern shores, spawning cold drizzles, strong winds and high waves, a weather official said.

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Singapore will stick to its tough laws governing public protests when leaders from around the region meet in the city-state next week, police said yesterday.

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ROAD TO FREEDOM: Hashim Thacim was confident his party would lead in assembly polls and that he would become the first prime minister of an independent nation
Kosovo votes tomorrow in elections expected to install a former guerrilla leader as the prime minister who will lead the province's majority Albanians to independence.

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French commuters struggled to work for a second day yesterday as rail unions extended a nationwide transport strike aimed at forcing President Nicolas Sarkozy to back down over pension reforms.

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The national state of emergency imposed after a police crackdown on opposition protests will be lifted today, Georgia's parliamentary speaker said, after the US and other Western nations pressed the government to remove the measure.

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SHARP CRITICISM: Exasperation among moderates over the president's brushing off of UN sanctions and refusal to consider the possibility of a US military attack is rising
Iran's moderates are intensifying criticism of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, landing their first blows in a bitter political fight ahead of elections next year.

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Rail traffic in Germany faced major disruptions early yesterday as passenger train drivers joined freight services in a strike that rail operator Deutsche Bahn called the biggest in its history.

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SHAKEN UP: A powerful 7.7 magnitude quake left more than 150 people injured and damaged thousands of houses in the north of the country
An earthquake damaged thousands of houses, blocked roads and knocked out electricity across northern Chile. Authorities reported at least two deaths and more than 150 injuries.

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GUNS AND BOMBS: The attack left 25 dead after troops called in aircraft near Baghdad, while in Kirkuk a police brigadier survived an attack on his convoy that killed six
US forces backed by aircraft killed 25 suspected insurgents in operations targeting al-Qaeda near the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the US military said yesterday.

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A video released on Wednesday shows the dramatic last moments of a Polish immigrant who died after police shocked him with a Taser and restrained him at Vancouver's airport last month.

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Sure, instant messaging is fast and efficient. But for many teenagers in the US, it is also a great way to avoid embarrassing face-to-face confrontations.

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Chicago police officers are the subject of more brutality complaints per officer than the national average, and the police department here is far less likely to seriously pursue abuse cases than the national norm, a team at the University of Chicago reported Wednesday in an analysis of law enforcement data.

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■ JAPAN

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