AWOL: The US Navy condemned the crime and promised to cooperate with Japan's authorities after a taxi driver was found with a knife in his neck 65km south of Tokyo
Authorities were yesterday searching for a US sailor in Japan after his credit card was reportedly found in the car of a taxi driver who was stabbed to death.

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Devout Roman Catholic Ruben Enaje donned a crown of thorns as he prepared to put himself through the agonizing ordeal of being nailed to a cross -- for the 22nd time.

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NOT FOR SALE: The ruling United Malays National Organization downplayed chances of the opposition seizing power by pressing lawmakers to switch sides
Malaysia's ruling coalition is investigating claims that the opposition could seize power with the help of lawmakers who are considering defecting, reports said yesterday.

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NEW START: The Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders hope to be able to open Ledra, a road blocked off for nearly 50 years and the most potent symbol of the island's division
The leaders of Cyprus' Greek and Turkish communities met yesterday in a new effort to break a deadlock in reunification talks that threatens to derail Turkey's bid to join the EU.

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WESTERN ALLIANCE: Nine ex-communist countries, plus Canada, urged NATO to offer the two states a 'Membership Action Plan' to facilitate their admission
Nine former-communist NATO members, plus Canada, urged the rest of the Atlantic alliance to overcome splits and open the door to former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia at its summit next month, Lithuania said on Thursday.

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On the list of famous Serbs, there are soccer stars, tennis champions and notorious politicians. And then there's Vesna Vulovic.

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German Jews accused the pope on Thursday of allowing anti-Semitic sentiment to fester in the Catholic Church by refusing to abolish the disputed "Prayer for the Jews" in the Latin Mass for Good Friday.

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The drink-fueled antics of young Britons causing havoc on holiday are well-known -- but Britain's over-55s are now joining them in getting into trouble while abroad, the British Foreign Office said on Thursday.

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CURIOSITY KILLLS TWO CATS: Two State Department contract workers were fired and a third disciplined for sneaking inappropriate peeks at Senator Obama's file
Two contract employees for the State Department have been fired and a third disciplined for inappropriately looking at the passport file of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, a spokesman said.

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Iraq's prime minister pledged on Thursday that the country would play an active role on the world stage in an upbeat speech delivered as the troubled nation entered a sixth year of war. Despite signs of progress, many Iraqis hold out little hope for a quick end to their suffering.

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THINK FOR YOURSELF: McCain, traveling as part of a US congressional delegation, said Britain would have to decide for itself about withdrawing troops from Iraq
US presidential hopeful John McCain said on Thursday the Iraq War remains the key issue in the race for the White House, urging voters to back a continued US presence in the country five years after the 2003 invasion.

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With more than a dozen people killed by floodwaters and rivers still rising, weary Midwesterners on Thursday weighed not just the prospect of a sodden cleanup but the likelihood that their communities could be inundated again.

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■ THAILAND

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