Malians stock up before anti-junta sanctions bite

BAMAKO (Reuters) – Malians rushed to stock up on petrol and cash on Tuesday after neighbours went ahead with trade and diplomatic sanctions aimed at forcing the military junta to hand over power. For long one of the most stable democracies in West Africa, Mali has plunged into turmoil since a widely condemned March 22 coup that emboldened Tuareg rebels to seize half the country in their quest for a northern homeland. …

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Illegal fishing plunders and strains West Africa

FREETOWN/DAKAR (Reuters) – On a recent mission pursuing pirate fishermen off Sierra Leone’s coast, the head of the Fisheries Protection Unit found himself adrift on the high seas with six crew after their rented motorboat ran out of fuel. “We started rationing the food and water,” Victor Kargbo said. With no long-range radios to seek help, they improvised a makeshift sail from a tarpaulin, but with only one day’s supply of food and water remaining, they feared the worst. “Even if we should die in the process, we knew we had served the country well,” Kargbo said. …

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Illegal fishing plunders and strains West Africa

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U.S. Embassy shelters Americans amid Egypt NGO crackdown (Reuters)

Reuters – Several American citizens have taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Cairo amid a sharpening dispute between Washington and Egypt’s military-led authorities over U.S.-funded pro-democracy groups in the country, the State Department said on Monday.

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Pakistani tech wiz harnesses Internet for the poor (AP)

AP – While many young tech wizards strive to invent the next iPad, Umar Saif is working to bring Internet-style networking to millions of Pakistanis who don’t have access to the Web. He could shake up the country’s politics in the process.

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Obama fences, parries at start of Midwestern tour (AP)

AP – Rolling by bus through the heart of the country, President Barack Obama turned his attention to farmers Tuesday, promoting rural economic policies to fire up anemic job growth.

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Obama fences, parries at start of Midwestern tour (AP)

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Moroccan military plane crash kills 78: military (Reuters)

Reuters – At least 78 people were killed on Tuesday when a Moroccan military transport plane crashed into a mountain in the south of the country during bad weather, the military said in a statement carried by the state news agency.

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Radioactive water leaks from Japan’s damaged plant (Reuters)

Reuters – Tons of radioactive water were discovered on Tuesday to have leaked into the ground from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, the latest in a series of leaks at the plant damaged in a March earthquake and tsunami, the country’s nuclear watchdog said.

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Radioactive water leaks from Japan’s damaged plant (Reuters)

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100,000 throng to Syrian protesters’ funerals (AFP)

AFP – More than 100,000 mourners turned out on Saturday for the funerals of protesters killed by Syrian security forces in Hama, a rights group said, warning that the country is nearing an “abyss”.

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100,000 throng to Syrian protesters’ funerals (AFP)

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Japan’s PM survives no-confidence motion (AP)

AP – Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a no-confidence motion Thursday over his response to Japan’s massive tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis, but said he is willing to resign once the country’s recovery takes hold.

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Big student debt could limit schools’ aid access (AP)

AP – The government is moving forward with its crackdown on the country’s for-profit schools, aiming to protect students from taking on too much debt to attend schools that do nothing for their job prospects.

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