400 asylum seekers reach Italian island

TWO boats carrying more than 400 African migrants have arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, the latest in a wave of thousands of undocumented migrants arriving from North African shores. The boats were intercepted on Saturday by...

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Syrian troops attack rebels: report

SYRIAN opposition activists say government troops have launched a major attack on rebel-held areas south of the capital Damascus. "The Syrian troops are trying, under a barrage of heavy shelling, to storm Daraya from various directions," Haytham...

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China to open longest high-speed railway

THE world's longest high-speed rail route, running from the Chinese capital Beijing to Guangzhou in the south, will open for business on December 26, Chinese state media says. Travelling at an average speed of 300 kilometres per hour, the line...

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Mandela continues hospital stay

NELSON Mandela remains in hospital, a week after he was admitted for treatment for a lung infection, a government official says. "Mr Mandela is still in hospital, still comfortable and receiving treatment," said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj....

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Two dead in shooting at Vegas casino

A man shot dead a woman working at a travel desk at Las Vegas' Excalibur hotel, above, and then turned the gun on himself, even as the US reeled from the Sandy Hook school massacre. Source: Supplied A MAN shot and fatally wounded a woman, then...

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22 children hurt in China school attack

A KNIFE-WIELDING man has injured 22 children and an adult outside a primary school in central China as students were arriving for morning classes, police say. It's the latest in a series of periodic rampage attacks at schools and kindergartens....

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IAEA confident of nuclear deal with Iran

THE UN nuclear agency has expressed confidence that it will clinch a deal with Iran next month under which Tehran will at last answer "credible" evidence that it has conducted atomic weapons research. Herman Nackaerts, International Atomic Energy...

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Fake Islamic prophet arrested for 'sex cult'

A MAN who allegedly claimed to be an Islamic prophet and tricked his male followers into allowing him to have sex with their wives and daughters has been arrested, Indonesian police said. The 48-year-old was detained on the island of Borneo...

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Abducted mother of Nigeria minister freed

AN official says the mother of Nigeria's finance minister has been released after being abducted by kidnappers. Paul Nwabuikwu, a spokesman for Nigeria's finance ministry, said the mother of Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was released on Friday...

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Son-in-law of Tunisia's Ben Ali arrested in Seychelles

THE son-in-law of Tunisia's deposed former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been arrested in the Seychelles, the Tunisian authorities announced. Sakhr El Materi, who was convicted in absentia of corruption by a Tunisian court, fled to Qatar...

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Hong Kong stocks end 0.26% lower

HONG Kong shares have fallen 0.26 per cent on profit-taking and corporate fundraising injecting new shares into the market, breaking a three-day rally that saw the market hit a 16-month high. The benchmark Hang Seng Index (HSI) on Thursday eased...

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Four face charges in SA street fight death

A FOURTH person has been arrested in relation to the death of a man in an Adelaide street fight. Police have charged three men, aged 18, 19 and 26 with murder, after a 49-year-old man was killed in suburban Elizabeth Park on Wednesday night....

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China defies US pressure over North Korea

World leaders condemned North Korea's rocket launch, with the US demanding there be consequences. Source: AAP CHINA has resisted US-led pressure to bring its ally North Korea to heel for launching a long-range rocket, arguing that any response...

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Russia says Syrian regime may lose

A blast in the Syrian capital Damascus has targeted the Interior Ministry building. Source: AAP A CAR bomb has killed 16 people outside the Syrian capital hours after a bombing wounded the interior minister as Damascus ally Moscow acknowledged...

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Pakistan wastes up to $72m a day: watchdog

PAKISTAN wastes a whopping $US51 million to $US72 million ($A48.5-$68.5 million) every day as a result of inefficiency, corruption and tax shortcomings, the head of an anti-corruption watchdog said. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said...

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Nurse autopsy findings held back

THE results of a post-mortem examination on London nurse Jacintha Saldanha will be kept under wraps until a coroner opens an inquest into the death which came three days after an Australian radio prank. An examination of the 46-year-old mother...

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Pope blesses internet flock over Twitter

POPE Benedict XVI has blessed his new internet flock with his first Twitter message to more than a million followers already signed up to receive the holy tweets. "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you...

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Asia marks 12/12/12 with mass weddings

THOUSANDS of couples in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore have flocked to tie the knot on 12/12/12, seeking good fortune for marriages begun on the century's last repeating date. Authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively said 696...

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Russia queries US nod for Syria rebels

RUSSIA says it is surprised by US President Barack Obama's recognition of the Syrian opposition, saying Washington was now betting on an armed victory by rebels in the conflict. "I was somewhat surprised to find out" about the recognition announcement,...

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Assange plays down lung trouble rumours

WIKILEAKS frontman Julian Assange has played down reports of his ill health but says an Australian offer of medical assistance amounted to providing a list of local doctors. During an interview with ABC Radio on Wednesday night, Mr Assange responded...

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Mali PM's resignation 'not a coup'

Mali's PM has resigned after soldiers who led a recent coup burst into his home and arrested him. Source: AAP MALIAN Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra's resignation after his arrest by soldiers is not a coup and a new premier will be named...

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Abbott defends abortion drug criticism

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has defended his position on the controversial abortion drug RU486. Source: AAP OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has defended his position on the controversial abortion drug RU486 while he was a health minister in...

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Nelson Mandela has lung infection

SOUTH Africa's former President Nelson Mandela is suffering from a recurring lung infection and is responding to treatments, the nation's presidency says. The ailing Mandela, 94, has been in 1 Military Hospital near South Africa's capital, Pretoria,...

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Carr to visit Sri Lanka this week

Foreign Minister Bob Carr will travel to Sri Lanka this week for talks on people smuggling. Source: AAP FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr will travel to Sri Lanka on Friday to discuss trade ties, tourism and efforts to disrupt people smuggling. ...

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More than half-million Syrian refugees: UN

THE number of Syrian refugees registered in neighbouring countries and North Africa has passed half a million, the UN's refugee body says. Many more have not come forward to seek help. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday it had...

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Mandela doing 'very well', says minister

SOUTH African former president Nelson Mandela's stay in hospital for unspecified medical tests has stretched into a third day. Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who visited Mandela on Monday at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria, South...

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Queen in 3D Christmas message

NOT one to be left behind in the technology stakes, the Queen's 2012 Christmas message will be available to viewers in 3D, British media reports. The 86-year-old monarch, believed to be the first royal to use the new broadcast format, has already...

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Nigeria seeks to free minister's mother

The mother of Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (pic) has been kidnapped officials say. Source: AAP NIGERIAN police on Monday sought to free the elderly mother of the country's finance minister, an ex-World Bank managing director...

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Italy's political drama rattles markets

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti announced he will resign once next year's budget is approved. Source: AAP ITALIAN stocks have plunged over three per cent and debt markets are rattled after a weekend of political drama which kicked off a...

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Opel to end car production at German plant

GENERAL Motors Co's Opel unit says it plans to end car production at one plant in Germany in 2016, but a slimmed-down factory may continue to make components. Employees at the Bochum plant in northwestern Germany, one of four in the country,...

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