Iran’s foreign minister was reported on Monday to have offered to extend a three-day visit to his country by United Nations inspectors.

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Iran Offers to Extend U.N. Nuclear Inspection

The German president speaks of his country’s “shame” on a visit to the villa where 70 years ago top Nazis planned the mass murder of Jews.

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Nazi site troubles German leader

Youssou N’Dour, although extremely popular in his country, must overcome a lack of political experience in his campaign.

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Youssou N’Dour, Senegal Singer, Runs for President

NEW DELHI — It was billed as a new assertiveness, when India’s usually meek Prime Minister Manmohan Singh supposedly looked his Chinese counterpart in the eye at a summit in Bali last weekend and defended his country’s “commercial” right to explore for oil and gas in the South China Sea. But it was also a sign of rising frictions between India and China, and of what experts see as a dangerous new game between the world’s most populous nations. Read full article > >

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China, India perform dangerous new dance of encircler, counter-encircler

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China was by turns “grouchy” and constructive as he responded to concerns about his country’s claims in the South China Sea, an American official said.

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Obama and Asian Leaders Confront Chinese Premier at Meeting

BEIRUT — Pressure mounted on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Monday after the Jordanian king suggested he step down ahead of a crucial Arab meeting in Morocco on Wednesday aimed at exploring specific measures to sanction Syria for its ongoing crackdown against protesters. Jordan’s King Abdullah offered the most explicit condemnation yet of Assad by an Arab leader in an interview with the BBC. ‘If Bashar has the interest of his country, he would step down. But he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life,” he said. Read full article > >

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Jordan’s King Abdullah suggests Assad step down as pressure on Syria mounts

Syria’s President Assad warns of an “earthquake” if the West intervenes in his country, where 3,000 people have died in the unrest since March.

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Syrian head warns Western powers

Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan, the former cricketer, urges the UK to its aid to his country, saying it fuels corruption.

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Khan urges UK to cut Pakistan aid

Bahrain’s Sunni king says he will lift his country’s state of emergency on June 1, over a month after he instituted it to quell Shi-ite protests. Bahrain’s Shi-ite majority had been demanding greater political freedoms, a constitutional monarchy, and…

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Bahrain to Lift State of Emergency

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said in an opinion piece Monday that his country was not part of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. But Zardari still left some key questions unanswered, although he insisted that his country was neither…

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Pakistan: We Didn’t Help Kill Osama

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari denies that the killing of Osama Bin Laden by special forces in his country is proof it is failing to combat terrorism.

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Pakistan defends Bin Laden role

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the “victor” in Kazakhstan’s recent presidential election with 95 percent of the vote, claimed on this page April 1 that his country has a democratic destiny. Unfortunately, Nazarbayev’s record as president since his country gained independence in 1991 shows that Kazakhstan is moving away from, not closer to, a democratic system of government. Indeed, the profound disconnect between reality in Kazakhstan and Nazarbayev’s assertions resembles other authoritarian regimes where leaders seek to wrap themselves in some form of democratic legitimacy.

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Kazakhstan’s fictional democracy

LISBON, Portugal — Portugal became the third debt-stressed European country to need a bailout as the prime minister announced Wednesday his country will request international assistance to ease its rapidly worsening financial crisis.

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Portugal’s prime minister says his debt-stressed country will request a long-expected bailout

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif Gaddafi, has accused those enforcing the UN mandated non-fly zone over his country of supporting terrorists.

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VIDEO: Saif Gaddafi: The world is wrong

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif Gaddafi, has accused those enforcing the UN mandated non-fly zone over his country of supporting terrorists.

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VIDEO: Saif Gaddafi: The world is wrong