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Iraqi Sunnis urge charter change

BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of Sunni demonstrators rallied in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit on Monday to denounce Iraq’s new constitution a day after negotiators finished the new charter without the endorsement of Sunni Arabs. Sunni leaders have urged their community to defeat the charter in a nationwide referendum on …

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Suicide bomber strikes in Beersheva

Abbas condemns attack, describes it `terrorist operation’ OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — A suicide bomber blew himself up yesterday wounding some 40 Israelis, two of them seriously, in the southern Israeli town of Beersheva. The bombing came four days after Israeli troops killed five Palestinians, three of them teenagers, in the northern …

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Only heat has candidate Mubarak sweating

CAIRO — Dabbing sweat from his brow with a neatly folded white handkerchief, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak plods on with his election campaign speech, promising building land for the young and more investment in agriculture. He starts with the ritual homage to the history of the town he is visiting …

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Iran bids to open out talks beyond Europe

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran does not consider Britain, France and Germany to be the sole negotiating partners on its nuclear programme and believes the process should be opened out beyond Europe, the foreign ministry said Sunday. “We will continue negotiating with them, but on the other hand we will not …

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Bush touts constitution, prods Sunnis

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — President George W. Bush on Sunday dismissed the rejection of Iraq’s new draft constitution by Sunni negotiators as the opinion of a few, expressing confidence that the failure to secure backing from all the country’s ethnic and political groups won’t derail a transition to democracy. Bush …

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Main points of Iraq constitution

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi leaders presented the final draft of a new constitution to parliament Sunday ending weeks of tortuous negotiation without winning the endorsement of representatives of the disgruntled Sunni Arab minority. The draft constitution brings in a federal system of government with Islamic law as “a principal source …

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Iraq charter ready for referendum

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials finished the new constitution Sunday but failed to win the endorsement of Sunni Arab negotiators, a major setback for the Bush administration strategy to lure Sunnis away from the insurgency and hasten the day US troops can go home. Absence of Sunni Arab endorsement, after …

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