Prince Talal bin Abdel-Aziz , a half-brother of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has called for political reform in Saudi Arabia, including the introduction of a constitution and a "quasi-legislative council." He told Radio Monte Carlo that Arab rulers should introduce change before they are required to by political uprisings, which happened recently in Lebanon [...]

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that his nation would take legal action against Christian evangelist Pat Robertson and could seek his extradition to Venezuela, after Robertson suggested his assassination last week. In a televised speech, Chavez said Venezuela could have Robertson extradited under international treaties and if the Bush Administration did not take action, [...]

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Australian Prime Minister John Howard rejected a proposal Monday that Muslim girls be forbidden from wearing headscarves in public schools, saying that banning headscarves only would be impractical and banning headscarves only would be inconsistent. The suggestion was made by two members of Howard's Liberal Party , Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Panopoulos , who called [...]

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Iran rejected conditional negotiations with Europe concerning its nuclear program Sunday, instead voicing interest in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency . Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also said the United States would not be included in any negotiations . On Friday, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani called for additional members of the [...]

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Promulgation of Emergency Orders, Mayor of New Orleans, August 28, 2005 . Excerpt: 1. A mandatory evacuation order is hereby called for all of the Parish of Orleans, with only the following exceptions: essential personnel of the United States of America, State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans; essential personnel of regulated utilities and [...]

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Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the entire US city of New Orleans (population 484,674) evacuated Sunday in advance of the anticipated Gulf Coast landfall Monday morning of Hurricane Katrina , currently described by the National Weather Service as a "potentially catastrophic" Category-5 storm packing winds of nearly 175 miles per hour . New Orleans has long [...]

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