Hard-line Afghan MPs Block Law Protecting Women
May 18th, 2013KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked a law on Saturday that aims to protect women’s freedoms, with some arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles or encourage women to have sex outside of marriage. The failure highlights how tenuous women’s rights remain a dozen years after the ouster of the
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Iraq Attacks Leave 8 Dead
May 18th, 2013BAGHDAD (AP) — Gunmen killed the entire family of an anti-terrorist policeman in Baghdad and a Sunni cleric in the Shiite-majority south on Saturday, part of a wave of attacks across Iraq that left eight dead, said officials. The attacks follow three days of bombings and other violence across the country that killed 130 people.
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SKorea Says NKorea Fires 3 Short-range Missiles
May 18th, 2013SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions. The North fired two missiles Saturday morning and another in the afternoon,
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Activists: Rebel Groups Kidnap In Syria’s Aleppo
May 18th, 2013BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists say that a wave of tit-for-tat kidnappings between rival Islamic militant groups in the northern city of Aleppo risks sparking large-scale internal fighting between rebels. Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Saturday that a coalition known as the Judicial Council had accused another rebel
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French President Signs Gay Marriage Into Law
May 18th, 2013PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande has signed a law authorizing gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, after months of nationwide protests and wrenching debate. His signature means the first gay marriages may be celebrated in France within about 10 days. Hollande’s office said he signed the bill Saturday morning, a day after
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