New law points to Philippine church's waning sway

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Twenty-six years after Roman Catholic leaders helped his mother marshal millions of Filipinos in an uprising that ousted a dictator, President Benigno Aquino III picked a fight with the church over contraceptives and won a victory that bared the bishops' worst nightmare: They no longer sway the masses.Aquino last month signed the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health...

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Pakistanis bury slain teachers, aid workers

SWABI, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of villagers in northwest Pakistan turned out Wednesday to bury five female teachers and two health workers who were gunned down a day earlier by militants in what may have been the latest in a series of attacks targeting anti-polio efforts in the country.The seven had worked at a community center in the town of Swabi that included a primary school and a medical clinic...

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Gunmen ambush NGO van killing 7 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A police official says unknown gunmen have ambushed a van of teachers in northwest Pakistan and killed six female teachers and one man in the vehicle.The police chief in the town of Swabi, Abdur Rasheed, says the van was carrying teachers working for a non-governmental organization who were on their way to a community center. Gunmen attacked the vehicle on the outskirts of...

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Asian nations giving enthusiastic welcome to 2013

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Fiscal cliff? Recession? Not in Asia, where the first countries to see 2013 are enthusiastically welcoming the new year.Increasingly democratic Myanmar is having a public countdown for the first time. Jakarta plans a huge street party befitting Indonesia's powering economy.In Sydney, eager revelers camped Sunday night on the shores of the harbor to get the best vantage points...

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India rape victim's body cremated in New Delhi

NEW DELHI (AP) — A young woman who died after being gang-raped and beaten on a bus in India's capital was cremated Sunday amid an outpouring of anger and grief by millions across the country demanding greater protection for women from sexual violence.The cremation took place during a private ceremony in New Delhi soon after the woman's body arrived in the capital on a special Air India flight from...

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Pakistan: Cough syrup suspected in 33 deaths

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Authorities are investigating cough syrup believed to have killed 33 people in eastern Pakistan in the past three days, a government official said Saturday, the second time in recent months that suspect medicine is thought to have caused multiple deaths.Also Saturday, an explosion ripped through a passenger bus while it was at a terminal in the southern city of Karachi, killing...

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Myanmar to allow daily private newspapers

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar said Friday it will allow private daily newspapers starting in April for the first time since 1964, in the latest step toward allowing freedom of expression in the long-repressed nation.The Information Ministry announced on its website that any Myanmar national wishing to publish a daily newspaper will be able to submit an application in February. New papers will be...

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India rape victim in Singapore; PM pledges action

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged Thursday to take action to protect the nation's women while the young victim of a gang rape on a New Delhi bus was flown to Singapore for treatment of severe internal injuries.The Dec. 16 rape and brutal beating of the 23-year-old student triggered widespread protests, including a march on Thursday, demanding a government crackdown on the...

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Air Bagan survivor tells of terrifying landing

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Survivors of a Christmas Day crash-landing of an airliner in Myanmar told terrifying tales of escape Wednesday as carrier Air Bagan said it had found the plane's black box and was investigating the accident that killed two people.Details of the crash remain unclear, though the airline and officials have blamed heavy fog for the aircraft's crash into a rice paddy field where...

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Plane crash-lands on Myanmar road, 3 killed

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A flight packed with Christmas tourists crash-landed on a road in central Myanmar on Tuesday, killing three people and injuring 11, officials said.Four foreigners were among the injured on the Air Bagan flight, the airline said. It said the fatalities were all Myanmar citizens: a tour guide and an 11-year-old child on board the plane and a man riding a motorcycle on the road...

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said.The killing of the American, who worked as a contractor with the NATO command, was the first known insider attack by a woman in Afghanistan.The woman,...

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Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said.The rally in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban.Among the dead...

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Pakistan says 29 nationals beaten by Afghans

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials say they are investigating allegations by neighboring Pakistan that Afghan forces severely beat Pakistani nationals.The Saturday protest note from Islamabad's Foreign Office provided no details other than to say that all 29 had valid travel documents.Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai says he has no information about the allegations, but Kabul...

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NKorea says it has detained a US citizen

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday that an American citizen has been detained after confessing to unspecified crimes, confirming news reports about his arrest at a time when Pyongyang is facing criticism from Washington for launching a long-range rocket last week.The American was identified as Pae Jun Ho in a brief dispatch issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang....

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SKorea's president-elect faces NKorea uncertainty

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Park Geun-hye promises to reach out to North Korea with more humanitarian aid and deeper engagement after she moves into South Korea's presidential Blue House on Feb. 25. Pyongyang, however, may be in no mood to talk anytime soon.Park's declarations ahead of Wednesday's election that she will soften five years of hard-line policy rang true with voters, even as they rejected...

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Outrage in India over gang rape on bus

NEW DELHI (AP) — The hours-long gang-rape and near-fatal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi triggered outrage and anger across the country Wednesday as Indians demanded action from authorities who have long ignored persistent violence and harassment against women.In the streets and in Parliament, calls rose for stringent and swift punishment against those attacking women, including...

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Gunmen kill 5 female polio workers in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen killed five Pakistani women working on a U.N.-backed polio vaccination campaign in two different cities on Tuesday, officials said. The attacks were likely an attempt by the Taliban to counter an initiative the militant group has opposed.The attacks came a day after an unknown gunman killed a male volunteer for the World Health Organization's anti-polio campaign in...

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Video suggests N. Korea's first lady has baby bump

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — The wife of North Korea's young leader might be pregnant, judging by video that shows her with what appears to be a baby bump.In the video aired on state TV, Ri Sol Ju is shown walking slowly next to her husband, Kim Jong Un, at the mausoleum where his late father's body was unveiled Monday.There is no official word from Pyongyang about a pregnancy. In addition, Ri is...

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Exit polls: Conservative LDP wins Japan election

TOKYO (AP) — The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party won a clear majority in Japanese parliamentary elections Sunday, media exit polls showed, signaling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with rival China.Public broadcaster NHK projected that the LDP, a conservative party that ruled Japan for most of the post-World War II era until it was dumped in 2009 elections,...

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Sympathy over US school shooting stretches globe

LONDON (AP) — Images of a tearful President Barack Obama speaking after a shooting rampage in Connecticut resonated around the world, with many outside the United States expressing hope Saturday that America's latest school massacre would prompt the country to strengthen gun control.Shock and sympathy were the initial reactions to the rampage that left 28 people dead, including 20 children at an elementary...

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