Israel hits Hamas buildings, shoots down Tel Aviv-bound rocket

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza, and the "Iron Dome" defense system shot down a Tel Aviv-bound rocket on Saturday as Israel geared up for a possible ground invasion. Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, said Israeli missiles wrecked the office building of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh - where he had met on...

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Southeast Asian leaders meet in Phnom Penh amid tensions

PHNOM PENH: Southeast Asian leaders will hold annual talks on Sunday that are set to focus on bruising territorial rows, a controversial pact on human rights and deadly ethnic unrest in Myanmar.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit is being held following months of acrimony within the 10-member bloc over how to handle disputes with China over competing claims to the...

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Bodoland Territorial Council member held with weapons, 5 more killed

GUWAHATI: Assam Police have arrested a key administrator of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) with two AK 47s and ammunition hours after five villagers were shot dead in Kokrajhar on Friday night. Since November 10, 11 persons have died in renewed ethnic violence. Unidentified gunmen raided Jiabari village near Kokrajhar at 11.30 pm on Friday night and shot dead four of a family, including three...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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GOP Mourning for Mitt Romney? Not So Much

Republicans are over it.And most of them aren't doing much mourning for Mitt Romney.Just over a week since the two-time Republican presidential hopeful failed to deny President Obama a second term, instead of offering up condolences for a candidate who garnered 48 percent of the popular vote, GOP leaders seem to be keeping Romney at arm's length."I've never run for president --...

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Israel authorizes more reservists after rockets target cities

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet authorized the mobilization of up to 75,000 reservists late on Friday, preparing the ground for a possible Gaza invasion after Palestinians fired a rocket toward Jerusalem for the first time in decades. Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial centre, also came under rocket attack for the second straight day, in defiance of an Israeli air offensive that...

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Arabs should use oil weapon against Israel: Iraq

CAIRO: An Iraqi official said on Friday Baghdad will recommend that Arab states use oil as a weapon to exert pressure on Israel and countries that back it, particularly the United States, over the Gaza crisis."Playing the economic card is our most powerful weapon at the moment in supporting the Palestinian people, for no military power can currently stand up to Israel," Iraq's permanent...

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SP releases list of 55 LS candidates, four of Mulayam's clan included

LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party (SP), in an attempt to grab the first-mover's advantage, released a list of 55 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The list includes four members of Mulayam Singh Yadav's clan, including the party boss himself. The SP became the first major party to name its Lok Sabha candidates on Friday, a day after the Congress declared that party general...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Petraeus Questioned Over Ambassador Rice

Disgraced former CIA director Petraeus spent almost four hours in closed door hearings before the House and Senate intelligence committees this morning to testify about what he learned first-hand about the Sept. 11 attack in the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.Democratic senators who emerged from the hearing said Petraeus' testimony supported U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.Rice, who...

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