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S.Korean Army Chief Quits Amid Tension with Pyongyang

South Korea's army chief resigned Tuesday over a controversial property investment, at a time of high tensions with North Korea following its deadly artillery attack on a border island last month.

The departure of General Hwang Eui-Don is a further blow to the South's military, widely criticized for a perceived feeble response to the North's bombardment, which triggered international alarm.

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U.S. Diplomat Richard Holbrooke Dies at 69

Richard Holbrooke, a brilliant and feisty U.S. diplomat who wrote part of the Pentagon Papers, was the architect of the 1995 Bosnia peace plan and served as President Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, died Monday, the State Department said. He was 69.

Calling Holbrooke "a true giant of American foreign policy," Obama paid homage to the veteran diplomat as "a truly unique figure who will be remembered for his tireless diplomacy, love of country, and pursuit of peace." Holbrooke deserves credit for much of the progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the president said.

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Sweden Blasts Bomb Blasts Claimed by Qaida-Linked Islamists

Sweden on Sunday probed two bomb blasts that killed a person in central Stockholm as a "terrorist crime", as an Al-Qaeda-linked website claimed one of its militants had carried out the suicide attack.

Saturday's explosions -- a suspected suicide attack and separate blast -- targeted Christmas shoppers in a busy pedestrian quarter of the Swedish capital. Two people were also injured.

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Ahmadinejad Invites Jordan King to Visit Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday invited Jordan's King Abdullah II to visit Tehran, in a letter delivered by top aid Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a palace statement said.

"His majesty met Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, who delivered a letter from President Ahmadinejad about bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues," it said.

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Six Soldiers Die in Insurgent Attack in Afghanistan

Six foreign soldiers were killed Sunday following an attack by insurgents in Afghanistan's Taliban-hit south, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

The coalition force would not give further details of the incident, one of the deadliest single attacks in recent months, and would not reveal the soldiers' nationalities, in line with its policy.

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Twin Blasts in Stockholm Leave One Dead

Twin blasts in central Stockholm killed one person and injured two others, in what Sweden's foreign minister said was a "terrorist" attack that could have had "catastrophic" consequences.

The explosions on Saturday, in a busy part of the capital packed with Christmas shoppers, came minutes after a Swedish news agency received a message denouncing Sweden's military presence in Afghanistan and threatening deadly attacks.

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Former WikiLeaks Worker: Rival Site Underway

Wikileaks soon won't be the only secret-spilling game in town.

A former co-worker of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to launch a rival website Monday called Openleaks that will help anonymous sources deliver sensitive material to public attention.

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Hackers Launch Cyber Attacks after WikiLeaks' Funding Cut

Hackers claimed Wednesday to have attacked the websites of Mastercard and a Swiss bank in apparent revenge for their decisions to choke off funding for the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

But WikiLeaks insisted it had nothing to do with the hacking.

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Michael Jackson's First Posthumous Music Video Precedes Album

A new Michael Jackson music video is hitting the Internet preceding the launch of a posthumous Jackson album.

The video, previewed by The Associated Press, debuts at midnight Thursday Eastern time on worldwide websites, including MichaelJackson.com, said Jackson estate co-administrator John Branca.

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Fire in Crowded Chile Prison Kills 81 Inmates

A fire killed at least 81 inmates in Santiago early Wednesday in what officials called the worst ever disaster at a Chilean prison.

"It's an immense tragedy -- probably the worst in the history of our prison system," said Health Minister Jaime Manalich, after firefighters extinguished the blaze that swept through a jail in the capital city.

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