US military: 2 US soldiers killed in southern Iraq
The new deaths bring to 4,462 the number of American service members who have died in Iraq since the war began in 2003
4 462 x 4 = 17 848
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ?
SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-14-06-47-40
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Australian prime minister snubs Dalai Lama
THE SUPERPOWER IS FURIOUS
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... 4-03-11-56====
Taiwan to lower budget for F-16 fighter jets
Ma [Ying-jeou, ROC prez] has often said Taiwan can ill afford an arms race with an increasingly deep-pocketed Beijing, and his government recently postponed the procurement of two U.S. weapon systems due to what a ruling Nationalist lawmaker describes as lack of defense budget.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... 4-03-31-10====
Japan's cabinet approves Tepco compensation scheme
The plan still needs to be approved by the Japanese parliament.
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Tepco shares surged 25% after the approval.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13758490JAPAN SHOOTS SELF IN FOOT TRYING TO BUILD OWN NUKES
SUPERPOWER BOMBS SECRET REACTOR IN NORTH-EAST JAPAN
Unexpected results: earthquake and tsunami
Expected cover story: Earthquake! Tsunami! Not Us!!
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Congressional report: US guns fuel Mexico violence
70% of firearms recovered from Mexican crime scenes in 2009 and 2010 and submitted for tracing came from the US.
SUPERPOWER ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH ITS WORLD DRUG MONOPOLY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13758499The report:
http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/inde ... a0dc739b9d====
Gunmen, suicide bombers storm Iraq [puppet] council building
Sunni and Shi'ite militias still carry out daily bombings and killings, and insurgents have increasingly targeted local [puppet] security forces and [puppet] government officials in their attacks.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews ... 14?sp=true====
Special report - Australia's big dig for foreign workers
The reason for this labour shortage, and the sky-high wages that come with it, is simple: Australia, with a population of 22 million, does not have the workforce to exploit its enormous natural bounty -- at least not at the pace required to satisfy Asia's hunger for resources.
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It may seem odd that Australia, with 22 million people sharing a continent the size of Western Europe, is concerned about population. But the country is mostly arid, forcing about 90 percent of people to cram into 3 percent of the country. In 40 years, the population is projected to reach 36 million.
In major cities, infrastructure is already failing to keep up with population growth, and new suburbs are emerging without trains or hospitals. In the outback, the situation is far worse.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews ... 14?sp=true====
Jobless Gaza enters 5th year of Israeli blockade
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) found that by the second half of 2010, real wages had fallen 34.5 percent since the first half of 2006, when sanctions were imposed by Israel after Hamas, an Islamist group that now rules the Gaza Strip, [>>]won a Palestinian legislative election.
The UN says the full-on blockade began a year later.
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Gaza's pressure cooker atmosphere has been relieved since the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak this year and a change in policy by Cairo, a party to the
blockade with Israel, which now opens the southern border crossing at Rafah daily for civilian traffic, though [>] not for trade.
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The full UNRWA report on Gaza employment conditions can be read here
http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/201106083557.pdf====
Q+A: State of play in the debt and deficit talks
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE BIDEN TALKS?
WHERE ARE THEY LOOKING FOR CUTS?
WHAT HOPES ARE THERE FOR A DEAL?
WILL THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT BACK A BIDEN DEAL?
WHO HAS MORE AT STAKE IN THE TALKS?
ARE THE MARKETS WORRIED?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/ ... 0U20110614
