Pakistan to reinstate judges after protests

All judges sacked by Pakistan’s previous president, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, will be reinstated, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani announced Monday after days of massive protests by lawyers demanding government action. “As per my commitment and the commitment of [President] Asif Ali Zardari, I announce the reinstatement of all deposed judges,” Gilani said in his address Monday

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After a Violent Day in Pakistan, Zardari Backs Down

Even by Pakistan’s standards, where violence has routinely scarred the landscape, the scenes were startling. For several hours on Sunday, the heart of this eastern city was witness to street battles as baton-wielding police mounted a fierce but ultimately failed attempt to crush a gathering of anti-government lawyers and political activists. As the country’s enduring political confrontation entered its decisive phase, President Asif Ali Zardari pressed on with his crackdown on opposition groups in a bid to thwart a “long march” for the reinstatement of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry

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Taliban threaten to kill aid workers as spies

A top Taliban commander has issued a new threat to foreign aid workers, saying that under the insurgent group’s new "constitution" they will execute them as spies or hold them in exchange for the release of Taliban fighters. In an exclusive telephone interview Friday night with CNN, Mohammed Ibrahim Hanafi said the Taliban intelligence wing was actively gathering information on foreign aid workers. “If we get someone, that is how we will deal with it under our new constitution,” he said

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Brazil’s Lula: A Bridge for Obama to Latin America’s Left?

The problem facing President Barack Obama in Latin America is that under the peevishness and negligence of his predecessor, the continent saw a stunning expansion of the anti-U.S. left. The solution to that problem may be Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who on Saturday becomes the first Latin American leader to visit the Obama White House — an invitation that all but anoints him as President Obama’s liaison to the region

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Abducted aid workers released in Darfur

Sudanese authorities have said a team of its doctors abducted Wednesday in Darfur has been released, the medical humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres said Friday A Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French coordinator were abducted Wednesday night. Two Sudanese workers were also captured and freed, the group said. The incident took place in Serif Umra, the Sudanese province in northern Darfur

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Stewart seen as winner in showdown with Cramer

By most accounts, the showdown was pretty brutal. Many watching Thursday night’s “Daily Show” on Comedy Central felt that comedian-turned-media-critic Jon Stewart held bombastic financial guru and CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer’s feet to the fire.

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Gil Kerlikowske: Obama’s New Drug Czar

President Obama’s choice to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy — otherwise known as the country’s “Drug Czar” — is Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. Having served in law enforcement for more than 30 years, Kerlikowske is known as an innovator and fierce defender of community policing principles that emphasize relationships with citizens over force. He’s clashed with city councils over his leadership style, but he’s also built a national reputation while working as a police chief all over the country

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