French Unemployment Drops, Worse Expected

No one is ever going to accuse the French of knee-jerk exuberance. Case in point: the reaction to Monday’s announcement by government officials that France’s main unemployment index actually shrank in June — the first reversal in rising joblessness since April 2008.

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‘No Saint’? Berlusconi’s New Ploy to Win Over Italy’s Catholics, and the Vatican

“I’m no saint.” Pronounced with a grin at a Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony, Silvio Berlusconi’s one-liner-of-the-week was a masterstroke of political damage control, all’italiano. At least for now

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Patching Relations with India, an Ignored Ally

The Bush years were a good time for relations between the world’s two biggest democracies. After years of suspicion and tensions, India and the U.S. finally began to explore common ground, a shift that culminated in a breakthrough deal that opens the way for India to import civilian nuclear technology despite the facts that it refuses to sign the nuclear-nonproliferation treaty and it has twice tested nuclear weapons.

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Haussler wins as Armstrong stays third

Lance Armstrong lost key Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer but stayed in third place in the Tour de France as Heinrich Haussler of Germany won the 13th stage run off in appalling conditions on Friday. Leipheimer pulled out before the start of the 200 kilometer run from Vittel to Colmar, his right wrist in plaster after a late crash on the previous stage. The American is a close friend of Armstrong and was not without hope of overall victory himself as he sat only 39 seconds behind the leader in fourth place before his withdrawal.

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