Australia’s PM announces day of mourning

A national day of mourning and a memorial service will honor the victims of the past week’s wildfires in southeastern Australia, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced Thursday. “It is important, it is very important that the nation grieves,” Rudd said, according to the Australian Associated Press. The government is working with the Council of Churches on the details of the service.

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Zimbabwe PM meets with political prisoners

Zimbabwe’s former opposition leader spent his first full day as prime minister of the deeply troubled African nation Thursday, and called it "hectic." Morgan Tsvangirai, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), met with union leaders and political detainees at a maximum-security prison, and planned to talk later to donors, he told journalists. He was sworn in as head of government Wednesday under a power-sharing agreement with the country’s long-time president, Robert Mugabe who he was also scheduled to meet Thursday.

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Nude photo of Madonna goes for $37,500

A nude photograph of pop singer Madonna was sold for $37,500 Thursday afternoon at a Christie’s Art House auction. The photo, originally expected to go for between $10,000 and $15,000, was purchased for more than double its original estimated selling price, a Christie’s spokesperson confirmed. The 13-inch by 8 5/8-inch framed photograph was purchased by an anonymous bidder over the phone.

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Rights groups: Pentagon sought Geneva Convention loopholes

The Bush Pentagon tried to find loopholes in the Geneva Conventions for its "ghost detainee" program in Iraq and to delay the release of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to avoid bad press, three human rights groups contend. Pentagon documents discuss CIA and Pentagon detention activities earlier this decade and indicate coordination between agencies in hiding internees from the Red Cross.

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New Jason unmasked for ‘Friday the 13th’

Actor Derek Mears has a big hockey mask to fill. Mears was cast as the iconic boogeyman Jason Voorhees in the new “Friday the 13th” movie. A remake of the original 1980 film, the new movie aims to breathe life into the former franchise about a psychopathic killer who preys on a group of young people at the fictitious Camp Crystal Lake

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Israel centrists just keeping lead

Israel’s centrist Kadima is maintaining its one-seat lead over right-wing Likud but with about 100,000 ballots yet to be counted the result is not yet official, the Central Elections Committee said Thursday. About 99 percent of the vote has been counted and the parties have already begun negotiations to form a ruling coalition in the 120-seat Knesset. The elections committee said ballots from such people as soldiers and diplomats remain to be counted, and final certification of the vote totals won’t come until next week.

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