Unions declare strike to protest Honduran coup

Three major public-sector labor unions in Honduras plan to begin a general strike Tuesday in support of deposed President Jose Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a military-led coup, a union official told CNN. “It will be an indefinite strike,” said Oscar Garcia, vice president of the Honduran water workers union SANAA. “We don’t recognize this new government imposed by the oligarchy and we will mount our campaign of resistance until President Manuel Zelaya is restored to power.” He estimated that 30,000 public-sector workers, as well as some private-sector workers and peasant farmers, could join the strike.

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China eases restrictions on flotations

One of the world’s hottest spots for raising capital is back in business. Ten months after halting initial public offerings, or flotations, on Chinese bourses, the government has cleared the way for Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical, a maker of traditional Chinese medicines, to list on the Shenzhen exchange. The company plans to raise $133 million with the IPO, which offered subscriptions to retail investors Monday

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Iran’s Press TV disputes story of Neda’s death

The woman whose death has come to symbolize Iranian resistance to the government’s official election results did not die the way the opposition claims, government-backed Press TV said Sunday. Two people told Press TV there were no security forces in the area when Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, was killed on June 20. Neda’s death was captured on amateur video — most likely by a cell phone — and posted online.

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3 killed in drive-by at motorcycle fundraiser

Three people were killed and at least seven wounded Saturday in a drive-by shooting at a motorcycle club fundraiser in California, authorities said. The president was arrested at his residence and transported aboard a military plane to an unknown destination, the newspaper La Prensa reported.

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Honduras president arrested, local media report

The military arrested Honduras President Jose Manuel Zelaya on Sunday morning, the same day he vowed to follow through with a referendum that the country’s Supreme Court had ruled illegal, local media reported. The president was arrested at his residence and transported aboard a military plane to an unknown destination, the newspaper La Prensa reported. Military soldiers were on the street around the capital, but there was no reported unrest, according to Radio America

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Iranian envoy: CIA involved in Neda’s shooting?

The United States may have been behind the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year-old Iranian woman whose fatal videotaped shooting Saturday made her a symbol of opposition to the June 12 presidential election results, the country’s ambassador to Mexico said Thursday. “This death of Neda is very suspicious,” Ambassador Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri said

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Michael Jackson Dead at 50: A Life of Talent and Tragedy

The tragedy of Michael Jackson’s death at age 50, reportedly from cardiac arrest, pales in comparison to the tragedy of his life. To understand all that Jackson had and lost requires wiping away three decades of plastic surgeries that deformed him, erratic behavior that made his name synonymous with the warping powers of fame, and a 2005 trial for sexually abusing a child that, even though he was spared of any finding of wrongdoing, made him a pariah to all but the most brainwashed of fans. But if you can forgive or forget all that, underneath was one of the most talented entertainers of the 20th century.

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Sanford’s wife: ‘His career is not a concern of mine’

Jenny Sanford said Thursday that her husband Mark Sanford’s political career is "not a concern of mine" and that she’d be just fine — regardless of whether their marriage survives. She would not speculate whether her husband would resign as South Carolina governor

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