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Leader of US army in Iraq promoted to command of Middle East forces
US: Gen David Petraeus, leader of the US war effort in Iraq, has been nominated by the Bush administration to become the senior commander of US forces in the Middle East, it was announced yesterday. p

Brown defiant after climbdown on 10p tax rate
UK: BRITISH prime minister Gordon Brown has denied allowing himself to be "pushed around" by mutinous colleagues after a government U-turn averted the risk of defeat on a key budget measure days before next week's local and London elections. p

Diet of mother at time she conceives can determine baby's sex, study shows
UK: WHAT A woman eats around the time she conceives can influence whether she has a boy or a girl, researchers said yesterday. p

Other World Stories

The race goes on with plea for funds to get message out
US - Back in the game: Hillary Clinton proves she may be down but not out with vital win in Pennsylvania Outspent three to one, this primary was make or break for Clinton, writes Denis Staunton in Philadelphia p
Obama fixes on Indiana as place to stop race
US: BARACK OBAMA'S campaign strategists identified Indiana a month ago as the place to stop Hillary Clinton's campaign. Obama himself, on a bus tour of Indiana a week ago, predicted the state could be the tiebreaker. p
New Yorkers found wheeling dead friend down street released
US: A NEW York judge has thrown out the charges against two men caught wheeling a body down the street in an alleged attempt to cash the deceased's social security cheque. James O'Hare and David Daloia were arrested earlier this year by an off-duty detective who noticed their friend's stiff body outside a cheque-cashing business. p
N Korea helping Syria's nuclear plans, says CIA
US: CIA OFFICIALS will tell Congress today that North Korea had been helping Syria build a plutonium-based nuclear reactor, a US official in Washington says, a disclosure that could touch off new resistance to the administration's plan to ease sanctions on Pyongyang. p
Reports suggest Israel could cut peace deal with Syria
ISRAEL: ISRAELI PRIME minister Ehud Olmert's refusal to comment on reports that he has offered Syria a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace sparked a political storm in Israel yesterday. There was also speculation that there has been progress in indirect contacts between the two countries. p
Kenyan peace still incomplete until refugees go home
KENYA: MUCH OF Kenya is getting back to normal. Kofi Annan flew out last weekend after a new power-sharing cabinet was sworn in, and the 40 ministers and 52 assistant ministers have begun appointing their staffs and selecting their preferred model of Mercedes. p
Triumphant Nepalese Maoists take moderate line
NEPAL: NEPAL'S FORMER Maoist rebels emerged triumphant as the largest party in the country's new parliament last night, signalling they would work with the traditional politicians they have routed. p
First regional vote recount declares Zanu-PF as winner
ZIMBABWE: ZIMBABWE'S RULING Zanu-PF party has won the first of 23 constituencies involved in the country's partial general election recount, according to a state-run newspaper yesterday. p
Women taking to streets in protest at reform of oil industry is part of Mexican tradition
MEXICO: While women were both agitators and police, men may be masterminding the action, writes Adam Thomson in Mexico City p
Iran agreement to clarify nuclear issue a milestone, says ElBaradei
UN: VIENNA - Iran has agreed to answer intelligence allegations that it studied how to design nuclear bombs, the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog said yesterday. p
Rome's mayoral battle gives parties the chance to refight general election
ITALY: Last Friday night "Sara" got off at the wrong train station. On the northern Rome suburban line to Viterbo, it is not a difficult mistake to make. The stations are not only dirty but ill-lit, while most of the station signs have been sprayed into illegibility by unknown spray-can "artists". p
Italy to lose important post in European Commission
EU: ITALY IS set to lose the heavy-weight EU justice and home affairs post following the likely departure from Brussels of Italian commissioner Franco Frattini to become foreign minister in Silvio Berlusconi's new government. p
European Parliament says China is fuelling African wars
EU: CHINA'S GROWING demand for energy has led to a no-strings-attached investment programme that is funding oppressive regimes in oil-rich African nations like Sudan and Chad, according to a report adopted by the European Parliament yesterday. p
Priest lost at sea after balloon stunt
BRAZIL: BRASILIA - Ships and planes searched along the coast of Brazil yesterday for a priest who disappeared after drifting out to sea suspended from hundreds of helium-filled party balloons, authorities said. p
In Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief... p