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Germany’s ‘debt queen’ kicks austerity to the curb
Her rivals call her Germany’s “debt queen,” but Hannelore Kraft’s victory in a state election on the weekend has driven speculation she could challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel as the mother of a nation famed for its frugality. Ms. Kraft’s ready smile and common touch helped her turn around the fortunes of her centre-left Social Democrats [...]
Witnesses describe Breivik’s “battle cry” during killing spree
Anders Behring Breivik screamed a “battle cry” and appeared both angry and joyous as he shot his victims one by one, survivors of the Norwegian far-right killer’s massacre told a court on Wednesday. “I heard screaming but I couldn’t make out the words,” Ingvild Leren Stensrud, 17, who was shot in the leg and shoulder, [...]
Mexican novelist, essayist Carlos Fuentes wrote with a social conscience
Author Carlos Fuentes, who played a dominant role in Latin America’s novel-writing boom by delving into the failed ideals of the Mexican revolution, died Tuesday in a Mexico City hospital. He was 83. Fuentes died at the Angeles del Pedregal hospital where he was taken after his doctor, Arturo Ballesteros, found him in shock in [...]
Social issues take centre-stage after Obama’s gay marriage declaration
Will it be Greece or gay marriage? As the American presidential election campaign enters the serious phase, social issues seem to have taken a front seat in the debate over who best can lead the country into an almost certainly tumultuous future. Less than 24 hours after Barack Obama delivered the commencement address at Barnard [...]
Ottawa has second chance to save millions of lives
Canadians want to take concrete action on behalf of those in developing countries who are needlessly suffering from fully treatable ailments. They want to help millions of people worldwide gain access to live-saving, affordable medicine. Our politicians have this very opportunity in the form of Bill C-398, currently making its way through Parliament. The bill [...]
Ouster of China’s security chief points to battle between reformists, hardliners
First came the purge of Bo Xilai, a rising star in the Communist Party who fell into disgrace just before he was expected to join the inner circle of power in China. Now a sitting member of that omnipotent club – the Standing Committee of the Politburo – has reportedly been stripped of his main [...]
At least 9 killed in Nepal plane crash
A plane carrying 21 people crashed Monday while trying to land at a mountain airstrip in Nepal’s northern Himalayas, killing at least nine, authorities said. Eight survivors in critical condition were flown by helicopter to a hospital. The plane hit a mountain while it was turning around to land at Jomsom Airport, said Laxmi Raj [...]
