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5:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Afghan Mineral Treasures Stay Buried, Hostages To Uncertainty

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 7:23 am

For years, reports have suggested that Afghanistan is sitting on massive deposits of copper, gold, iron and rare earth minerals valued up to $3 trillion. This provides hope for a future economy that would not have to rely so heavily on foreign donations.

But with an uncertain political, regulatory and security environment, international investors are hesitant. And it could be many years before Afghanistan begins extracting its mineral wealth.

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The Two-Way
1:59 am
Sat May 18, 2013

French President Signs Same-Sex Marriage Into Law

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 2:11 pm

France is officially the 14th country to legalize gay marriage. Saturday, President Francois Hollande signed a bill that Parliament had passed in April, which gives same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

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The Two-Way
6:54 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Need A Tattoo Translated? Forget The British Foreign Office

Credit Saeed Khan / AFP/Getty Images
A man gets a tattoo in Bangkok. The British Foreign Office says its citizens abroad have some odd requests.

The British Foreign Office is happy to assist its citizens, but officials want to make clear that there are some requests they won't fulfill.

Such as supplying Olympic tickets or doing a background check on that Swedish woman you met online.

Those are just a few of the "often good natured" but distracting requests that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) says it received over the past year, according to a press release issued Thursday.

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Latin America
4:20 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Architect Of Argentina's 'Dirty War' Dies In Prison

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 6:52 pm

Jorge Rafael Videla was a former senior commander in the Argentine Army who was the de facto president of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a coup d'etat that deposed Isabel Martinez de Peron.

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World
4:20 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

U.N. Tries To Get Syria Peace Talks Back On Track

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 6:52 pm

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, saying it is important not to "lose momentum" in the effort to convene a peace conference on Syria. Ban was only the latest in a string of foreign dignitaries who have come to Russia, seeking Putin's blessing for such a conference, expected to be held in early June. There's a lot at stake. Russia has been a long-time supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and continues to supply weapons to his regime. U.S.

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Middle East
4:20 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

U.S. Doctor: 'We Truly Are Failing The Syrian People'

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 6:52 pm

Stephen Cornish of Doctors Without Borders was recently in Syria. He talks to Audie Cornish about how medical personnel are managing to reach patients in the war-torn nation where he says there is a lack of respect for doctors on both sides of the conflict.

The Two-Way
2:33 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Mother Of India Gang Rape Victim Faces Suspects In Court

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 3:04 pm

In India, the mother of the 23-year-old woman fatally gang-raped on a moving bus last December appeared in court Friday and for the first time clapped eyes on the men accused in the heinous attack on her daughter.

The four men on trial have been charged with murder and face capital punishment for the crime that convulsed the country and prompted harsher punishments for rape.

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The Two-Way
2:24 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Former Argentine Dictator Who Oversaw Death Squads Dies At 87

Credit Eduardo Di Baia / AP
Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla (center) is sworn in as president in Buenos Aires after seizing power in 1976.

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 3:19 pm

Jorge Rafael Videla, an ambitious Army chief who seized power in Argentina in 1976 and orchestrated a campaign of terror against his opponents, has died in prison at age 87.

Videla, whose "Dirty War" killed at least 15,000 people, perhaps twice as many, died of natural causes in Argentina's Marcos Paz prison, where he was serving multiple life sentences for crimes against humanity, officials said.

After leading a bloodless coup that toppled President Isabel Martinez de Peron on March 24, 1976, Videla became the head of a junta.

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Parallels
10:39 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Young Gazan Men Get Unwanted Haircuts, Courtesy Of Police

Credit Emily Harris/NPR
Tarik al-Nakib (left) says Gaza Strip police officers picked him up on the street and forced him to get his hair cut recently. He's growing it out again in a style similar to that of his friend Mohammad Abu Ramadan.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 10:39 am

As 17-year-old Tarik al-Nakib tells it, he was just out to buy some bread one afternoon in April when a silver bus from the Gaza Strip police department pulled up next to him.

"One guy opened the door and asked me to get in the bus," Nakib says. "Another came out and pushed me in. I was trying to understand what was going on, what did I do? No one wanted to answer me."

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Parallels
9:28 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Venezuelans Stock Up On Toilet Paper Amid Shortage

Credit Fernando Llano / AP
A woman who just bought toilet paper at a grocery store reads her receipt as she leaves the store in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday. The government says it will import 50 million rolls of toilet paper amid a shortage.

Venezuelans may be used to a dearth of medicine, milk and sugar, but there's a new shortage that's, shall we say, a bit more problematic: toilet paper.

The government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced this week that it would import 50 million rolls of toilet paper to meet the growing demand.

"We will saturate the market so the people will be calm," Commerce Minister Alejandro Fleming told the official AVN news agency.

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