Schools across Pakistan close after deadly suicide blasts

Authorities have closed all educational institutions across the county until at least the end of the week, following twin suicide bombings at an Islamic university on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the death toll from the attacks at Islamabad’s International Islamic University had climbed to six.

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32 planets discovered outside solar system

Thirty-two planets have been discovered outside Earth’s solar system through the use of a high-precision instrument installed at a Chilean telescope, an international team announced Monday. The existence of the so-called exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — was announced at the European Southern Observatory/Center for Astrophysics, University of Porto conference in Porto, Portugal, according to a statement issued by the observatory

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Western nations urge Japan to sign child abduction treaty

The ambassadors of eight Western nations urged Japan on Friday to consider signing The Hague Convention on international child abduction. The meeting came as an American Christopher Savoie, jailed for allegedly wresting his two children away from his ex-wife, was released by Japanese authorities and was on his way home to Tennessee.

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UK to send 500 more troops to Afghanistan

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is increasing British troop levels in Afghanistan to 9,500 — an increase of 500, he announced Wednesday. “We will now move further and faster with our strategy” of training Afghan forces to take responsibility for the country’s security, he said.

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