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Barred from Gulf, Bangladeshis Risk Lives to Head South

Denied their traditional route out of poverty in the Gulf and often urged on by relatives, growing numbers of young Bangladeshis are joining the waves of Rohingya trying to reach Southeast Asia on horror boat journeys.

As the plight of millions has worsened in Bangladesh in recent years, smugglers organizing the perilous sea voyages have grown increasingly sophisticated, keen to cash in on their misery.

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S. Korea's Park Names Justice Minister as New PM

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Thursday selected her justice minister to become the new prime minister -- a post that has become something of a poisoned chalice under her administration.

Hwang Kyo-Ahn, 58, was named as the new prime minister after his predecessor, Lee Wan-Koo, was implicated in a major bribery scandal and forced to quit in April after serving only two months.

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Israel Oil Firm Ordered to Pay Iran $1.1 bn

A Swiss court has ordered an Israeli oil firm to pay Iran $1.1 billion in compensation over a joint venture from before the 1979 Islamic revolution, state news agency IRNA said Thursday.

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Canadian Man Dead, Two Missing in Mexico Boat Trip

A 78-year-old Canadian man was found dead in a western Mexico lake and two of his elderly countrymen remain missing after they disappeared during a boat trip, officials said Wednesday.

A civil protection official in Chapala, a resort town popular with U.S. and Canadian retirees in Jalisco state, said the three men had left in a sailboat on Monday.

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Sierra Leone Berates Ebola Quarantine Escapees as Cases Surge

Sierra Leone on Wednesday berated the "selfish and shameful" behavior of people risking a resurgence of the Ebola virus by flouting quarantine restrictions, as authorities announced a spike in cases.

The country's National Ebola Response Center (NERC) spoke out as the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed the west African nation and its neighbor Guinea had seen cases quadruple in a week.

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6.9-Magnitude Quake Strikes Off Solomon Islands

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands in the Pacific on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and no major damage was expected.

The quake hit at a depth of 19 kilometers (11 miles), some 184 kilometers from Lata and 487 kilometers from the capital Honiara. It was followed a smaller 4.9-magnitude aftershock.

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Mini Copter Pilot Indicted after Landing at U.S. Capitol

A man who landed his mini helicopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury and faces six charges relating to the security scare. 

Douglas Hughes, 61, a postal worker from Ruskin, Florida was arrested on April 15 after he landed his gyropcopter on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the seat of Congress in the heart of Washington. 

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U.S. to Sell Bombs to Israel, Helicopters to Saudis

The United States said Wednesday it plans to sell thousands of bombs and missiles to Israel as well as 10 Seahawk helicopters to Saudi Arabia, in deals worth about $1.9 billion each, officials said Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department informed Congress of the proposed arms sales to two allies in the Middle East that are both wary of Washington's negotiations with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.

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Nuclear Disarmament Talks Struggle to Reach Action Plan

A month-long conference at the United Nations to decide on an action plan for nuclear disarmament headed into a final stretch on Wednesday with no agreement in sight.

More than 150 countries are taking part in the conference ending Friday on reviewing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a landmark document that seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and technology.

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IS Overruns Third of Syria's Ancient Palmyra

Islamic State jihadist fighters took control of the northern sector of the Syrian city of Palmyra on Wednesday, a monitor and activists said, sparking renewed fears over its historic treasures.

"The situation is very bad," Syrian antiquities director Mamoun Abdulkarim said by telephone.

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