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Russian nuclear subs to patrol south seas

"The revival of nuclear submarine patrols will allow us to fulfill the tasks of strategic deterrence not only across the North Pole but also the South Pole," state-run Itar-Tass cited an unnamed official in the military General Staff as saying.

Russian S-300 missiles haven't made it to Syria, but MiG fighter jets might

Russia has not yet delivered the rumored S-300 air defense missile systems to Syria, Russian media reports said Friday. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who can count Moscow as his last remaining ally, seemed to imply on Thursday that part of the controversial shipment had arrived, without referring to the missiles by name. The S-300 missiles would make a no-fly zone in Syrian air space particularly hard to establish, and would make it possible to shoot down aircrafts in the air above neighbors Turkey and Israel.

Louis XIV, keeper of France’s infamous prisons, would have understood Guantanamo

Commentary: It is a modern symbol of arbitrary power that ignores due process and the rule of law.
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A hooded demonstrator is seen at a protest calling for the closure of the Guntanamo Bay detention facility infront of the White House. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Prisons have always struck fear in people’s hearts. From the dawn of history they have been used to lock human beings away who have either been anti-social or run afoul of somebody’s politics.
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Michael Adebowale charged in Woolwich murder

Michael Adebowale has been charged in the murder of a British soldier in broad daylight on a London street, which is being treated as an Islamic extremist attack.

Sgt. Robert Bales to plead guilty in Afghan village slaughter, avoid death penalty

Bales is accused of leaving his base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and killing 16 villagers, mostly women and children.

What’s up with Kerry in his bid for Mideast peace talks?

Commentary: What we may learn is how the secretary of state handles failure.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas at the World Economic Forum at the King Hussein Convention Centre in Jordan on May 26, 2013. (KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images)

OWLS HEAD, Maine — Secretary of State John Kerry is just back from yet another visit to the Middle East to jump-start an Israeli-Palestinian peace as part of a longer trip that included stops in Ethiopia and other African hot spots.

He's barely been in the job three months but with his miles piling up, he seems intent on breaking Hillary Clinton's million-mile travel record during her four years as secretary.

A peripatetic secretary of state can be a good thing; promoting US interests, strategic and economic, and just showing the flag around the world, is not a bad way for America's premier diplomat to spend his time.

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French police arrest suspect in soldier stabbing

The evidence suggests that the attacker wanted to kill a representative of the French state "in the name of his religious ideology," prosecutors said.

Women face challenges as Libya moves toward a new constitution

Commentary: Gender discrimination still permeates Libyan laws and institutions.
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A Libyan woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her vote to elect Libya's General National Congress in Benghazi on July 7, 2012. (Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)
“I have waited my whole life for tomorrow, which will be a new day for Libya,” an elated Haja Nowara told Human Rights Watch on the eve of Libya’s first democratic national elections in July 2012. “We sacrificed a lot to get here.” We met Nowara as she held a lonely vigil in the square outside the courthouse in Benghazi, where she had spent many evenings supporting the revolution since early 2011. She proudly displayed her voter registration card around her neck and waved Libya’s new national flag while people approached her to pay their respects. She had become an icon due to her steadfast participation in the protests that started the revolt that eventually led to the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi.
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EU lifts arms embargo on Syrian rebels, extends sanctions on Assad's regime

The European Union decided to lift its arms embargo on Syria's rebels, while the White House reportedly asked for plans for a no-fly zone in Syria.

US Air Force F-15 fighter crashes off Okinawa, Japan; pilot rescued

The pilot of a US Air Force F-15 fighter that crashed off the southern Japan island of Okinawa has been plucked from the ocean.
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