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Social affairs

European court condemns CIA in landmark ruling
A European court issued a landmark ruling Thursday that condemned the CIA's "extraordinary renditions" programs and bolstered those who say they were ...
Israeli FM charged with breach of trust
Israel's powerful foreign minister was charged Thursday with breach of trust for actions that allegedly compromised a criminal investigation into his ...
Study: People worldwide living longer, but sicker
Nearly everywhere around the world, people are living longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases ...
UEFA gives bans, fines to Serbia over U21 brawl
UEFA imposed heavy sanctions on Serbia on Thursday for an on-pitch brawl and its fans' racial abuse of England players at an ill-tempered under-21s ...
London police drop racism case against fan
London police are taking no further action against a man arrested after being pictured making an alleged racist gesture during a League Cup match ...
Somali rebels: Up to $8K to kill Kenyan forces
An intelligence message intercepted from an al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group shows that the rebels are being offered up to $8,000 as a reward for ...
Pakistan extends refugee status for Afghans
Pakistan has extended refugee status for over a million Afghans in the country by an additional six months, the government announced — a move likely ...
Vatican austerity means donated nativity scene
The Vatican has happily accepted a donated Nativity scene for St. Peter's Square this Christmas after a previous setup costing €550,000 ($717,000) was ...
South Africa deputy president in race to lead ANC
South Africa's soft-spoken Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will compete next week against President Jacob Zuma to lead the country's ruling party, ...
Morocco's biggest opposition leader dies
Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, the charismatic religious leader of Morocco's largest opposition movement and longtime opponent of two Moroccan kings, died ...
Swedish volunteer dies after Pakistan shooting
Sweden's government says an elderly Swedish woman who was shot by a gunman while working as a volunteer in Pakistan has died from her wounds.
Spanish botched fresco artist sells work on eBay
The 80-year-old Spanish artist who became famous because of her botched restoration of a Christ fresco in a small-town church is auctioning one of her ...
Rights group accuses Pakistani military of abuse
Amnesty International accused the Pakistani military on Thursday of carrying out widespread human rights abuses in the country's northwest tribal ...
UN Security Council condemns NKorea rocket launch
The U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea's successful rocket launch on Wednesday and said it will urgently consider "an appropriate response.
US, Syria opposition disagree over terrorist label
The U.S. and the head of the new Syrian opposition coalition being feted at a conference in Morocco Wednesday publicly disagreed over designating a ...
Fast and Furious gun buyer sentenced to prison
A man who purchased two rifles found at the scene of the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent north of the U.S.-Mexico border was sentenced ...
Egypt opposition urges 'No' vote on constitution
Egypt's main opposition alliance called for a "No" vote in the referendum on a disputed constitution rather than a boycott, hours after Islamist ...
Germany approves bill to protect male circumcision
German lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that explicitly permits male infant circumcision, ending months of legal uncertainty after a court ruling ...
Pope hits 1M mark as he tweets: 'Dear Friends... '
Pope Benedict XVI hit the 1 million Twitter follower mark on Wednesday as he sent his first tweet from his new account, blessing his online fans and ...
German clubs adopt contested security charter
German football clubs have adopted new security measures that include stiffer controls outside stadiums and possible body searches in an attempt to ...
Putin rejects foreign advice on democracy
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday angrily rejected what he described as attempts to enforce foreign patterns of democracy on Russia and vowed to ...
Amsterdam to ban smoking pot in school
Amsterdam's mayor said Wednesday he would formally ban students from smoking marijuana at school, making the Dutch capital the first city in the ...
New inquiry in '86 crash killing Mozambique leader
South African police have opened a new investigation into the 1986 airplane crash that killed Mozambique's Marxist president and more than 20 others, ...