PERTH, Australia – Heath Ledger’s family said Friday they were “proud and excited” by his posthumous Academy Award nomination, but that it could not heal the pain caused by his untimely death.
Exactly one year after he died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, Ledger was nominated for best supporting actor for his portrayal of [...]

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) — The Greek government has appealed for calm after rioting returned to cities Sunday, following a night of violence during which youths battled police across the country.
Athens riot police come under attack near the capital’s main police station Sunday.
Athens riot police come under attack near the capital’s main police station Sunday.
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HOHHOT, China – As the capital of a sprawling frontier region that was once in Mongol leader Genghis Khan’s vast domain, Hohhot has many ethnic Mongol flourishes. Streets signs are in Mongolian, yurt-themed architecture graces the city and some park benches have a Mongol saddle motif. At least one television channel airs in the Mongolian [...]

TEL AVIV, Israel – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday all but conceded that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by a year-end deadline is no longer possible.
But she also said upon arriving here that it is important to maintain momentum and support for the negotiations so that new governments in both Israel and the United [...]

LOS ANGELES – Actor George Takei and longtime partner Brad Altman were the first to receive a marriage license in West Hollywood when a court cleared the way for gay marriage earlier this year. Best known for his role as Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek,” Takei on Wednesday was disappointed but philosophical about California voters’ [...]

The government has decided to cut the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) by Rs100 billion to contain fiscal deficit at 4.7 per cent level and allow a ‘hefty increase’ in electricity tariff to achieve macro-economic stability, says Minister for Finance and Privatisation Naveed Qamar.
“One of the most serious issues is our depleting foreign exchange [...]

The chief election commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq also accepted the papers filed by Dr. Faryal Talpur, covering candidate of PPP and Roaedad Khan, covering candidate of the PML (N). Nomination papers of the remaining 27 independent candidates were rejected on different technical grounds. The candidates can withdraw their nomination papers by tomorrow noon and the [...]

There are more than 100 people on board the plane. The Libyan officials are holding dialogue with the unknown number of hijackers while all passengers remained on board. The hijackers, who are believed to be hard-line Darfur rebel group, have asked for jet fuel in order to fly on to Paris.
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In an interview he expressed the confidence that the issue of restoration of judges would be resolved amicably.

A white house spokesman said development and testing of rockets by Iran raises further questions about their intentions. Earlier, Iran said it had successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite.
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