Hamas says it may consider Israeli soldier’s release

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Monday that it is willing to consider the release of an Israeli soldier who was seized in a cross-border raid more than two years ago. But the Hamas leadership of Gaza will not release Gilad Shalit as part of a broader cease-fire agreement with Israel, according to a statement released Monday from Hamas political official Raafat Naseef

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N. Korea preps for satellite launch amid ‘space development’ claim

Denying recent intelligence suggesting it is preparing to test a long-range missile, North Korea signaled Monday it is gearing up to launch a satellite, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. A senior U.S. official told CNN last week that an American spy satellite had snapped an image of preparations at a North Korean site previously used to launch Taepodong-2 missiles.

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Peanuts on Northwest Airlines prompt protests

The return of peanuts to the snack menu at Northwest Airlines this month has prompted a spasm of protests from travelers with allergies. The change comes four months after Northwest merged with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and in the midst of a national salmonella outbreak involving Peanut Corporation of America.

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And the Emmy Goes To …

The members of the Motion Picture Academy are still filling out their ballots, but right now the Anglo-Indian melodrama Slumdog Millionaire is the strong favorite to win the Oscars for Best Picture, Directing and Adapted Screenplay. It has already snagged top prizes from the producers’, directors’, writers’ and actors’ guilds. It’s also earned nearly $80 million at the domestic box office–far more than the combined take of three of its Best Picture rivals, The Reader, Frost/Nixon and Milk.

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France ‘responsible’ for Holocaust deaths

France bears responsibility for deporting Jews to their deaths in concentration camps during World War II, the country’s highest court ruled Monday. But, the Council of State said, “measures taken since the end of the Second World War have compensated for the damage.” Northern France was directly occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II while the south of the country was ruled by the Vichy government that collaborated with Adolf Hitler.

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