| Peace talks in doubt over housing |
| The Palestinian Authority says indirect talks with Israel will be "very difficult" if more homes are built on occupied land as planned. |
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| Greeks stage fresh general strike |
| Public and transport services grind to a halt in Greece as workers stage a third strike in protest at austerity measures. |
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| Mexican shakes up world rich list |
| Mexican Carlos Slim overtakes Bill Gates as the world's richest man, according to the Forbes "rich list", with a fortune of $53.5bn.
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| Chile's new leader to be sworn in |
| Chilean tycoon Sebastian Pinera will be sworn in as president, with a major post-earthquake rebuilding effort ahead of him. |
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| Pakistan drone raid 'kills 12' |
| Two missile strikes by US drone aircraft kill at least 12 suspected militants in north-west Pakistan, security officials say. |
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| Ukraine president forms coalition |
| Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych secures a coalition in parliament, and one of his loyalists is nominated as PM. |
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| Afghan police drug abuse 'rife' |
| Drug abuse is rife in the Afghan police force with up to 40% of recruits testing positive in some areas, a US report says. |
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| Japan opens 98th national airport |
| Japan opens an airport in Ibaraki offering just one flight a day, sparking criticism over wasteful spending. |
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| Google to scan old Italian books |
| Italy signs a deal with Google to put online the contents of its two national libraries, including works by Dante and Galileo. |
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| Bank of America sorry for mistakenly repossessing parrot |
| Bank of America has apologised to a woman in Pennsylvania after one of its contractors entered her house and confiscated her parrot. |
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| Israel supermarket uses parody film of Dubai assassins in advert |
| An Israeli supermarket chain uses spoof surveillance footage, parodying that of the alleged assassins of a Hamas commander in Dubai, in a TV advert. |
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| Beckham lauds 'world best' Rooney |
| David Beckham hails Wayne Rooney as one of the world's best players after he fires Man Utd into the Champions League quarter-finals. |
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| Real crash out of Champions League |
| Lyon draw 1-1 in the Bernebau to earn a 2-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid. |
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| Powered pedal |
| Beijing's silent invasion of electric bicycles |
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| Tough task |
| Challenges ahead for new president in quake-hit Chile |
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| Mardell's America |
| 'Open carry' activists do weekly shop with a gun |
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| Earth Watch |
| Will review of UN climate change body be unbiased? |
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| Afghan anxieties |
| Why the UK fears politics and force are out of synch |
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| Fighting the tide |
| Church authority at risk as scandals spread in Europe |
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| Nigeria charges over Jos killings |
| Police say 49 people are to be charged with murder following communal violence that left scores of Nigerian villagers dead. |
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| Gambia row over wave of arrests |
| An opposition leader criticises a wave of arrests in The Gambia, saying detainees do not know why they are being held. |
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| Haiti situation 'dire', Obama says |
| Barack Obama warns that the crisis in quake-hit Haiti is not over, as he meets the country's President, Rene Preval. |
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| Lula criticised for Cuba comment |
| Brazil's President Lula is criticised for comments that appear to compare Cuban dissidents on hunger strike to common criminals. |
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| Burma election laws condemned |
| Burma's election laws provoke widespread condemnation, but military rulers re-open opposition party offices. |
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| China inflation at 16-month high |
| Chinese inflation hit a 16-month high in February, leading to calls for the government to take measures to cool the economy. |
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| Two in court over cartoonist plot |
| Two people are due in court in the Irish Republic over an investigation into an alleged plot to murder a Swedish cartoonist. |
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| EU to back bluefin tuna trade ban |
| EU nations decide to support a ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna until stocks recover. |
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| Egypt's top cleric dies aged 81 |
| Egypt's top Muslim cleric has died suddenly in Saudi Arabia at the age of 81. |
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| Iran attacks US over Afghanistan |
| Iranian President says it is the US, not Tehran, that is playing a "double game" in Afghanistan. |
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| Vladimir Putin set to visit India |
| Russian PM Vladimir Putin is due in India for talks expected to focus on arms and energy contracts. |
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| Confusion over kidnap in Pakistan |
| Police in Pakistan dismiss reports a five-year-old British boy who was kidnapped last week has been released. |
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| New Kurdish party to challenge polls |
| Jim Muir reports on the new Kurdish party that has emerged in northern Iraq to mount a challenge in the third general election since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. |
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| Bitterness and unease in Zimbabwe |
| Andrew Harding reports from Harare on the uneasy mood among the white population and the MDC party as President Robert Mugabe says he's ready for another term. |
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| Can US broker Middle East peace? |
| Joe Biden is in the region to encourage talks between the Palestinians and Israel. What can be achieved? |
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