Tag Archives: government

Hamas: U.S. Diplomacy’s Final Frontier

Israel’s new government is a headache the Obama Administration doesn’t need. Compared with Tzipi Livni, the woman he narrowly beat out, and even Ehud Olmert, the man he succeeds, incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuis cool toward a Palestinian state. And although it includes the moderate Labor Party, Netanyahu’s ruling coalition teems with right-wing figures like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, whose call for a loyalty oath directed at Israel’s Arab citizens dismays even Israel’s staunchest friends.

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Japan’s jobless rate rises as output grows

Unemployment in Japan rose to 4.8 percent in March, its highest level in four years and a nearly half-point rise from February, the government reported Friday. Household spending in the world’s second largest economy fell 0.4 percent in March, as the government predicted unemployment could rise to 5.2 percent in the next fiscal year.

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Report: Terror attacks up in Pakistan, Afghanistan

Terror attacks have spiked dramatically in Afghanistan and Pakistan as extremists in both countries strengthen their power and expand operations, according to a State Department report released Thursday. But the State Department annual terrorism report notes an overall decline in attacks worldwide and fewer attacks in Iraq. The attacks worldwide have decreased by 20 percent, with 30 percent fewer fatalities, said Russell Travers of the National Counterterrorism Center

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Swine flu fears grip Mexico

Fear and skepticism on the streets of Mexico have led to panic buying and deep suspicions about the government. Can officials handle a deadly swine flu epidemic, many people are asking, and are authorities lying about what’s really going on The nervousness and distrust are not limited to Mexico City, where government officials said most of the 159 deaths suspected of coming from the 2009 H1N1 flu strain have occurred. Villahermosa, in Tabasco state, is 567 miles (913 kilometers) away

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Russia slams NATO plan to expel diplomats

NATO intends to expel two Russian diplomats from its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Activists in the East African nation are urging women to withhold sex for a week to protest the growing divide in Kenya’s coalition government. “We are asking even sex workers to join the cause, even if we have to pay them ourselves,” said Patricia Nyaundi, executive director of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya

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