PAKISTANI-AFGHAN BORDER: Residents said the missile was fired from a pilotless drone in a pre-dawn raid. A security official said most of the 13 killed were Arabs
A suspected US missile strike destroyed an al-Qaeda and Taliban hideout in a Pakistani tribal area yesterday, killing 13 alleged militants including several Arabs, security officials said.

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In a heist worthy of Hollywood treatment, masked thieves entered the offices of a jewelry company through a tunnel they drilled through thick concrete, bypassing security and catching off-guard employees preparing for a weekend VIP showing.

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A fisherman swam 12 hours to reach the shore while another survived 30 hours at sea until a helicopter spotted him yesterday after their trawler sank off the Australian coast, rescuers said.

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MISSING: Chadian President Idriss Deby has been under pressure from France to account for two opposition leaders who human rights groups say were abducted
Under pressure from France, Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno announced on Wednesday an "international probe" into an attempted coup against him earlier this month during which three opposition leaders went missing.

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An Indonesian court awarded damages of US$552,000 to the son of ex-dictator Suharto after ruling yesterday that the state logistics agency defamed him by accusing him of corruption in a civil lawsuit.

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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that Hamas rocket attacks against Israel "need to stop," demanding an end to the escalating violence that has rocked the Gaza Strip and set back US efforts to promote a Middle East peace deal.

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Singapore, which prides itself on rigorous anti-terrorist measures, yesterday blamed a security lapse for the escape of an alleged leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant network.

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Frank Partridge is partial to a spot of beachcombing. He likes to pop down to Pentreath Beach on the southern coast of the Cornwall peninsula and find out what odds and ends have been washed in by the tide.

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TIGHTER RULES: For the first time, the resolution would ban trade with Iran in goods that have both civilian and military uses and introduce monitoring on two banks
The UN Security Council will approve new sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment -- but the timing is uncertain and the resolution may not get unanimous support.

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A "barbaric" video of white South African students forcing black university workers to eat meat contaminated with urine caused widespread outrage and protests on Wednesday.

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What's the cheapest way to text message your friends? For thousands of New York's middle school students, the answer now is to earn an "A."

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ANKARA ANSWERS: Turkey's minister of defense said his country would end its operations in northern Iraq once it had accomplished its mission
Turkey's incursion against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq should be short and focused, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday, and he urged Ankara to explain the goals of its cross-border operation.

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ANCIENT TONGUE: Mexico City's mayor said that a people that forgets its origins will be at the mercy of those who dominate global culture
"The smoking stars gather against it and the one who cares for flowers is about to be destroyed."

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Iraq's presidential council has rejected a plan for new provincial elections and sent the bill back to parliament for reworking, a major setback to US-backed efforts to promote national reconciliation.

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Five people in a busy sportsground in the Chilean capital Santiago died on Wednesday when a police training aircraft fell out of the sky and exploded in a fireball, killing its six occupants, officials said.

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Almost 33,000 Alaskan victims of the disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill could see their court-ordered payments reduced by more than half, to about US$30,000 each, if the Supreme Court hands Exxon Mobil Corp a partial victory in a long legal fight over punitive damages.

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■ AUSTRALIA

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