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Poll: Australians Back Fight against IS despite Terror Fears

Australians support the country's involvement in the fight against the Islamic State group (IS) in Iraq, despite fears it raises the risk of terror acts against them, a poll revealed Tuesday.

The 2015 Lowy Institute Poll found that 69 percent of Australians were in favor of the current involvement in air strikes against the jihadists and providing support for Iraqi security forces.

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Study: Smoking Behind Half of Major Cancer Deaths

Smoking is responsible for nearly half of deaths due to certain types of cancers in 2011, a U.S. study said Monday.

Some 48.5 percent of nearly 346,000 deaths attributed to one of the 12 types of cancer known to be caused by smoking were due to cigarette use, according to the study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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Abbott Brushes off Indonesia People-smuggling Bribery Claims

Australian authorities work within the law to stop asylum-seeker boats, Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted Tuesday after reports officials have made cash payments to members of people-smuggling rings for years.

The government has refused to deny reports that six Indonesian crew members were paid $US5,000 each to return an asylum-seeker vessel to Indonesia in late May, saying no comment will be made on operational issues.

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Kerry Urges Lavrov to Respect Ukraine Ceasefire

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday pressed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to ensure that Moscow respects the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, the State Department said.

In a telephone call to Lavrov, Kerry "urged Russia to seize the opportunity of upcoming meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group and its Working Groups to accelerate progress on implementing the Minsk agreements," signed in February, said John Kirby, a State Department spokesman.

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Ecuador's Embattled President Suspends Inheritance Bill amid Protests

Rocked by a week of protests over a his government's bid to redistribute wealth, and opposition calls for him to resign, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on Monday dropped the bill for now.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets around the South American nation to protest against the bill put forth by the leftist leader, who is an economist by training.

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U.S. Says F-15s, Guided Bombs, Drones Targeted Belmokhtar

The United States deployed two F-15 fighter jets equipped with guided bombs, along with spotter drones, to try to kill one-eyed Islamist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said the F-15E Strike Eagles were armed with precision 500-pound (230-kilogram) bombs as they attacked a target in eastern Libya.

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African Union to Send Military Experts to Burundi

African leaders meeting at a summit in Johannesburg on Monday agreed to send military experts to Burundi, which has been rocked by weeks of violence over the president's controversial bid for a third term.

Since surviving a coup attempt last month President Pierre Nkurunziza has faced down international pressure to reconsider his attempt to stay in power, which diplomats fear could plunge the country into war.

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Washington 'Disappointed' No Action Taken against Bashir

The U.S. said Monday it was disappointed Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was allowed to return home from a meeting in South Africa even though he faces an international arrest warrant. 

State Department spokesman Jeffrey Rathke stopped short short of using stronger language. He did not explicitly say that the United States regretted South Africa's failure to arrest Bashir, who faces charges of crimes against humanity.

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East Ukrainians Stage Rare Rally against Rebel Command

Several hundred Ukrainians in the country's war-torn east demanded Monday that pro-Russian insurgents remove scores of rocket launchers from crowded city neighborhoods and stop provoking return government fire on their homes.

The small but unusual demonstration outside the offices of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic suggested that an undercurrent of resentment with the new authorities was running through the streets of eastern Ukraine's main rebel-held town.

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Swiss Court Rules Handing Over Bank Employee Info to U.S. Illegal

A Swiss court has ruled that Credit Suisse's decision to provide U.S. tax authorities with information on an employee was illegal, according to the ruling made public Monday.

In April 2012, the Swiss government gave 11 Swiss banks the go-ahead to accommodate a U.S. tax evasion probe and hand over the names of thousands of their employees and consultants working with American clients.

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