BEIRUT (Reuters) – A Syrian exile opposition group said on Monday it was preparing to arm anti-government rebels with foreign help, while activists and the government traded blame for a massacre in the city of Homs. The dozens of killings in cold blood were carried out on a weekend when U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was visiting Syria to seek agreement on a ceasefire, humanitarian access and political dialogue. …
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Opposition to arm Syria rebels, dozens killed in Homs
AP – You know you live in a state consumed by politics when a webcam showing bureaucrats silently shuffling around a nondescript room feeding papers into a scanner attracts tens of thousands of viewers.
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Wisconsin recall webcam so boring it’s mesmerizing
(AP)
AP – Government forces surrounded residents of a restive Syrian village in a valley and killed all those trapped inside — more than 100 people — in a barrage of rockets, tank shells, bombs and gunfire that lasted for hours, a witness and two activist groups said Wednesday.
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Activists say Syrian troops kill 100 in village
(AP)
Reuters – Turkey clung to hopes on Wednesday of finding survivors under rubble three days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 459 people, and the government finally requested foreign help to shelter thousands of homeless families.
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Search for Turkish quake survivors enters third day
(Reuters)
AP – When it comes to presidential candidates, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a man of modest means.
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Perry supplemented wealth with profitable deals
(AP)
Reuters – Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou Saturday ruled out snap elections and said his government would succeed in bringing Greece out of the crisis by the end of his term in 2013.
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Greek PM rules out snap polls, protesters are back
(Reuters)
AP – Congress has reached a bipartisan compromise to end a two-week partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration that has idled tens of thousands of workers and cost the government about $30 million a day in uncollected airline ticket taxes, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Thursday.
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Reid: Congress reaches deal to end FAA shutdown
(AP)
AP – Emergency legislation to allow the government to borrow more money headed toward passage in the Senate Tuesday with just hours to spare before the national debt bumps against its ceiling. Expected approval sends the bill to President Barack Obama, averting a potentially disastrous, first-ever government default and making a down payment toward taming out-of-control budget deficits.
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Senate debates debt limit bill, passage likely (AP)
AP – Senate Republicans are showing far more flexibility than their tea party-backed House colleagues as Washington policymakers seek to steer the government away from a first-ever default on its financial obligations.
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Senate GOP shows flexibility in debt, budget fight (AP)
AP – A suicide bomber concealing explosives in his turban blew himself up inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Thursday during a memorial service for the president’s assassinated half brother, officials said. At least four people were killed.
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Bomber targets service for Afghan leader’s brother (AP)