ATHENS, Greece – Emissaries from Greece’s international creditors are holding a second day of preparatory talks with Greek officials, ahead of higher-level negotiations later this week on the country’s new multi-billion euro lifeline. The aim is to thrash out the terms of the deal — worth about 85 billion euros …
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BAGHDAD – Iraq’s Council of Ministers has declared a four-day mandatory holiday beginning Thursday as temperatures are set to soar above 50 degrees Celsius (123 degrees Fahrenheit). The statement, delivered on state-run Iraqiyya TV, is the second heat advisory issued by the Iraqi government this month. High summer temperatures are …
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BELGRADE, Serbia – The head of Serbia’s state lottery has resigned following allegations of a fraud during a live ticket draw this week. Police said Thursday they have questioned six people during an investigation into whether the latest winning lottery combination had been set up in advance. The affair erupted …
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MEXICO CITY – Hours after walking out of a federal prison following the dropping of drug trafficking charges against him, a Mexican college student on Friday called on the government to presume the innocence of arrested people rather than require them to prove it. Oscar Alvaro Montes de Oca was …
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MOSCOW – Two Russian crewmembers at the International Space Station have begun a spacewalk to install new equipment and inspect the orbiting outpost’s exterior. Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko are to mount devices that will ease the movement of crew on future spacewalks. They are also to replace an antenna, …
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NEW DELHI – Food and drinks giant Nestle is hopeful of selling Maggi noodles in India again after a court ordered fresh testing of the popular snack which was banned across India for unsafe levels of lead. The Mumbai High Court on Thursday ruled that Nestle India will be free …
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BEIRUT – Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says security forces have conducted several raids near the coastal southern city of Sidon in search of suspects following the arrest of a hard-line Sunni cleric. NNA says security forces are acting quickly Sunday following the arrest of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir so that …
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PRAGUE – Slovakian President Andrej Kiska has undergone a surgery at a clinic in the neighboring Czech Republic. The presidential office in Bratislava says Thursday’s endoscopic operation at the clinic in the western Czech city of Plzen deals with an unspecified painful problem at a hip joint. It was recommended …
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia has executed four more prisoners, bringing the number of people put to death since January to 113. The Interior Ministry says the four executions took place Wednesday. Three were Saudi men convicted of murder while the fourth was a Syrian national found guilty of …
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UNITED NATIONS – Two U.N. experts are appealing to Guatemala’s judicial authorities to “prevent any further attempt at interference, obstruction of justice or manipulation of the law” in the genocide trial of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt and a former intelligence chief. Thursday’s statement by the experts on genocide prevention …
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