Chinese furious over Laurent sale of ‘treasures’

When Christie’s announced its plans to auction off two 18th-century bronze sculptures, the Chinese flatly said "no." At the center of the dispute are two bronze sculptures, part of the late Yves Saint Laurent’s private collection of arts and antiquities. The two 18th-century pieces — fountainheads of a rabbit and a rat — disappeared when French and British Allied forces pillaged Beijing’s Old Summer Palace during the second Opium War in 1860. China says the relics are part of its cultural heritage and should be returned.

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Obama’s Iraq Pullout Plan: A Thumbs-Up from Anbar

As President Barack Obama prepares to green-light a plan to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 18 months, he’ll face skepticism from some military commanders who fear the withdrawal may be too hasty to maintain the country’s recent security gains. But the President ought to be reassured by the assessment of Marine Major General John Kelly, who just completed a 13-month tour as the top U.S.

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Obama to lay out ‘game plan’ on fixing economy

In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama is planning to strike a more optimistic tone than he has in recent days by laying out a "game plan" to beat the financial crisis, according to a senior White House official.

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Real life ‘Slumdog’ slum to be demolished

Multiple Oscar winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" has brought the plight of India’s slum dwellers to the rest of the world. But up to a million slum dwellers in the economic capital Mumbai are set for upheaval as the city is poised for a radical makeover Five years after the regional government announced its intention to redevelop Dharavi, the vast Mumbai slum where parts of “Slumdog Millionaire” were filmed, developers are finally submitting their blueprints for the project.

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In Hard Times, Olympic Plans Go On a Budget

Work on London’s main Olympic site is progressing well. The 600-acre former industrial zone in east London that will become the focal point of the 2012 event has been transformed into Europe’s biggest construction site. Steel for shoring up the massive new stadium’s seating terraces is being installed

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