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US judge grants $41 million settlement in Central Park rape case

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New York: A US federal judge has approved a $41 million settlement for five men wrongfully convicted for the brutal 1989 rape and attempted murder of a white jogger in New York`s Central Park.</div>
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The settlement ended a civil rights lawsuit over the "Central Park Jogger" case that lasted decades.</div>
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The men, all black or Hispanic teenagers from Harlem at the time, were falsely convicted of nearly killing 28-year-old investment banker Trisha Meili while "wilding" -- gangs assaulting strangers -- through the park on a warm April night.</div>
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Mayor Bill de Blasio hailed the settlement, which will see each of the wrongly accused receive about $1 million for each year of imprisonment, as an "act of justice for those five men that is long overdue." </div>
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His predecessor Michael Bloomberg had fought the case.</div>
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"With today`s approval by a federal judge, we can finally put this case behind us, and these five men and their families can begin to heal these wounds and move forward," de Blasio added.</div>
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The city did not admit any wrongdoing, with senior lawyer Zachary Carter saying that "both the investigating detectives and the assistant district attorneys involved in the case acted reasonably.</div>
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The case was a crucible for tensions and fears in New York at a time when race relations were fraught, a crack cocaine epidemic ravaged poor communities, violent crime was rampant and the gulf between rich and poor gaped wide.</div>
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Meili went for a night run in northern Central Park, was ambushed on a dark path and dragged into a ravine where she was beaten, sexually assaulted and left for dead.</div>
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She gradually recovered but had no memory of the attack, leaving police and prosecutors under intense pressure from media outlets and terrified New Yorkers to find the assailants.</div>
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Within hours, investigators picked up the five teenagers in a sweep of the area and interrogated them at length, often without the presence of an attorney or a parent at first.</div>
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Despite dramatic holes in the case against them and no DNA match from the crime scene, all were convicted.</div>
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The teenagers spent between six and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed that he had attacked Meili alone.</div>
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Their case was turned into a film, "The Central Park Five" that premiered at Cannes in 2012. </div>
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First Published: Saturday, September 6, 2014 - 11:48</div>
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US judge grants $41 million settlement in Central Park rape case

New York: A US federal judge has approved a $41 million settlement for five men wrongfully convicted for the brutal 1989 rape and attempted murder of a white jogger in New York`s Central Park. The se…

05 Sep 2014

`Pakistan Army, ISI to be blamed for al Qaeda's advance into India'

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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zee Media Bureau</b></div>
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Washington: Two days after al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the creation of a South Asian branch of his outfit to "raise the flag of jihad" in the Indian subcontinent, a US intelligence analyst accused the Pakistani military of `stage-managing` the terror outfit's latest advance into India.</div>
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In his column, Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst and National Security Council official for South Asia, also said that Pakistan should be warned that it will be placed on the list of states sponsoring terrorism, a newspaper said.</div>
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Riedel has directly blamed the Pakistan military and its intelligence outfit ISI for the renewed terror threats against India in order to secure gains in their country's political arena. There was no uncertainty that Zawahiri recorded the latest video in his hideout in Pakistan, secured by the ISI, claimed Riedel.</div>
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Pakistani Army and its ISI spies are once again playing with fire — with India, the LeT and Kashmir — in order to secure domestic gains against their civilian leaders."</div>
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The analyst further underlined the increasing risks of renewed confrontation between Pakistan and India, adding the US should ponder over a unilateral step if another 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks take place.</div>
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"America would treat Pakistan as a pariah like North Korea. It certainly meets the criteria and has for decades. The first Bush administration seriously considered this measure in 1992, although such a step obviously would have immense consequences for US-Pakistan relations," Riedel wrote.</div>
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"A targeted sanctions move against specific Pakistani military officials would send a strong deterrent message to the Pakistani Army and could be a warning shot before putting Pakistan on the list of terror patrons," Riedel further proposed.</div>
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He also advised that there should also be contingency planning between the US and India in case the latter faces another crisis with Pakistan.</div>
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He also mentioned that the terrorist attack on the Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, was aimed at discrediting Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and provoking India's PM Narendra Modi.</div>
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"Since he was elected in his own landslide victory last year, the Army has become increasingly unhappy with Sharif. They are very upset that he has put the former Army dictator Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason and did not just let him leave the country quietly. Musharraf ousted Sharif in a coup in 1999, and while the Army doesn't care that much for Musharraf, it does not like the judicial system holding a general accountable for coups. For them that sets a bad precedent," Riedel said.</div>
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Notably, Sharif's urge to deescalate the Indo-Pakistan rivalry has also upset the Army hardliners.</div>
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He further noted: "LeT is very close to the Pakistani military's Inter Services Intelligence Directorate or ISI. LeT would not have taken such a highly provocative action without at least some advance nod from the Pakistani spies in the ISI and the generals who command them. LeT's leader, Hafeez Saeed, lives openly in Pakistan, frequently appears on television denouncing the United States, and is the darling of the ISI.”</div>
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Urging the US to keep a check on Pakistan, Riedel warned: "If there is another LeT attack like the one in Mumbai or the one in Herat, it will provoke the most serious crisis in years between India and Pakistan, and the more that can be done by the United States and other to prevent such a disaster the better. But it won't be easy.”</div>
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`Pakistan Army, ISI to be blamed for al Qaeda's advance into India'

Zee Media Bureau Washington: Two days after al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the creation of a South Asian branch of his outfit to "raise the flag of jihad" in the Indian subcontinent, a U…

05 Sep 2014

Apple's rivals hope its iWatch makes 'wearable' work

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(Reuters) - Know what a "Wearable" is? Most top tech executives would struggle to define it. Now they're hoping that Apple will do it for them.</div>
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Next week, <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Apple Inc</a></span> (<span id="symbol_AAPL.O_0"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">AAPL.O</a></span>) is expected to stride into the market for wearable<span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=84&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">accessories</a></span> that link wirelessly up to phones and create a template for other firms that have struggled to create products consumers would want to be seen in.</div>
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Rival <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=104&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">electronics</a></span> makers have been <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=93&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">marketing</a></span> hundreds of wearable products over the past year, but have little to show for it in sales despite huge hype for <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=84&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">accessories</a></span> seen as a critical boost to the vast but increasingly saturated market for mobile phones.</div>
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Executives at Europe's big <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=78&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">consumer electronics</a></span> trade fair this week in Berlin readily admit to hoping that Apple can crack the missing code for everyone. Where the U.S. innovator leads, its rivals plan to follow by bringing their own improvements or by seeking out profitable niche <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/markets?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">markets</a></span> that Apple ignores.</div>
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"If Apple offers its own product, it will expand the market," Sung-jin Lee, Director of LG<span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=104&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Electronics</a></span> Inc's (<span id="symbol_066570.KS_1"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=066570.KS" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">066570.KS</a></span>) watch product planning team, said in an interview.</div>
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"This is what we wanted," Sunny Lee, CEO of Samsung Electronics' (<span id="symbol_005930.KS_2"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=005930.KS" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">005930.KS</a></span>) European business told Reuters when asked about Apple's likely debut.</div>
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Media reports have pinpointed 9 September as the date Apple will introduce its long-rumored smartwatch - a wrist device that typically connects to a nearby phone. Expectations are high for the iWatch, which could be the tech giant’s first brand new product after a four-year dry spell during which it faced pressure to create another groundbreaking consumer gadget.</div>
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So far Samsung dominates the smartwatch market, with 74 percent, but numbers remain small. Compared to the 1.3 billion mobile phones expected to be sold industry wide this year, just 1 million smartwatches shipped in the second quarter of 2014, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics estimates.</div>
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BUT WILL YOU WEAR IT?</div>
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Those kind of volumes suggest the industry remains in wait-and-see mode, despite devoting huge <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=93&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">marketing</a></span> energy to wearable devices that has garnered an amount of press attention disproportionate to the number of products on the shelves.</div>
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"Ultimately, what all these companies have been doing is just public prototyping," or testing the market, said mobile analyst Ben Wood of market research firm CCS Insight.</div>
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So far tech companies have struggled to impress consumers in part because younger generations who rarely wear watches but glance at their phones instead don't see the point of a wrist-worn accessory unless it can do something a phone can't.</div>
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Apple's arrival promises to bring <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/subjects/fashion?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">fashion</a></span> sense and sleek design to a market that so far has emphasized the technology inside their products rather than its outward usability or aesthetics, Wood noted.</div>
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"We are in the Stone Age of wearables right now," said Wood - a self-confessed wearables geek who has 15 such devices strewn on the floor of his office.</div>
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While "wearables" is a flexible term that covers health and fitness wrist bands, ear pieces, and even smart glasses or goggles, research firm CCS Insight predicts 87 percent of the market will be wrist-worn devices by 2018.</div>
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It forecasts the number of wearable devices to ship will reach 135 million in 2018, up from just under 10 million in 2013. That forecast is partly based on anticipation that Apple will enter the market and on hit products eventually emerging.</div>
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GOLD RUSH</div>
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So far <a class="itxtnewhook itxthook" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/05/us-electronics-fair-wearables-idUSKBN0H01AF20140905#" id="itxthook0" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border: 0px none transparent; color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="itxtrst itxtrstspan itxtnowrap" id="itxthook0p" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; bottom: auto; display: inline !important; float: none !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: normal; height: auto; left: auto; line-height: normal; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: static; right: auto; text-align: left; text-transform: none !important; top: auto; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="itxtrst itxtrstspan itxtnowrap itxtnewhookspan" id="itxthook0w" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: transparent transparent rgb(0, 204, 0); border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; bottom: auto; color: #009900; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; height: auto; left: auto; line-height: normal; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; right: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline !important; text-transform: none !important; top: auto; white-space: normal;">market-leader</span><img class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" id="itxthook0icon" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto; display: inline !important; float: none !important; height: auto !important; left: auto; line-height: normal; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none; max-width: none !important; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px !important; position: static; right: auto; text-align: left; top: auto; vertical-align: baseline !important; white-space: normal; width: auto !important;" /></span></a> Samsung has launched five watch models including one which can make and receive phone calls without linking to a nearby phone. [ID:nL3N0QY18Z] Its closest competitors, according to Strategy Analytics' data, are Pebble Technology Corp, which holds 13 percent of the market with its square-faced black phones offering links to Web apps, and Sony Corp. (<span id="symbol_6758.T_3"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=6758.T" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">6758.T</a></span>), which has 8 percent and recently launched a new smartwatch model that look like a computer clock.</div>
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In a bid to muscle in, LG announced this week in Berlin a range of smartwatches inspired by the design of classic Swiss watches. Unlike many rival black and boxy devices on the market, one doesn't spot the electronics inside at first glance.</div>
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"It is not a gold rush yet, but it has the potential to be," said Lee, the LG watch executive, of the wearables market.</div>
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Chinese network and phone equipment maker Huawei has so far dabbled in wearables but believes that as long as the devices are sold as accessories to phones, rather than by shrinking phone functions to fit inside, the category won't take off.</div>
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"A wearable should be a stand-alone product - and that may take a while," Shao Yang, Huawei's[HWT.UL] vice president of consumer marketing, said in an interview in Berlin.</div>
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Traditional watch makers may also benefit if tech firms find the right mix of <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/subjects/fashion?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">fashion</a></span> and function.</div>
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In a recent interview, Swatch Group (<span id="symbol_UHR.VX_4"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=UHR.VX" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">UHR.VX</a></span>) CEO Nick Hayek said smartwatches might convince younger generations to start wearing something on their wrists - making them Swatch targets at a later stage.</div>
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The Wall Street Journal and other media report that Apple’s device is likely to come in two versions and simplify the process of making mobile payments, but may not actually ship until next year.</div>
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Industry executives expect it to eventually also sport an array of sensors to enable health and fitness monitoring.</div>
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(Additional reporting by Harro Ten Wolde and Klaus Lauer in Berlin, Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Christina Farr in San Francisco; Editing by Sophie Walker)</div>
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Apple's rivals hope its iWatch makes 'wearable' work

A worker climbs outside an Apple store in Hong Kong April 10, 2013. (Reuters) - Know what a "Wearable" is? Most top tech executives would struggle to define it. Now they're hoping that Apple will do …

05 Sep 2014

U.N. to set up Ebola crisis center, aims to stop spread in six to nine months

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(Reuters) - The United Nations plans to set up an Ebola crisis center to coordinate the response to the deadly virus and to strive to halt its spread in West African countries in six to nine months, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on Friday.</div>
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Ban called on the international community to provide $600 million needed for supplies in West Africa, where more than 3,500 confirmed or probable cases of the hemorrhagic fever have been reported and more than 1,900 people have died since March.</div>
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"The number of cases is rising exponentially. The disease is spreading far faster than the response. People are increasingly frustrated that it is not being controlled," Ban told reporters.</div>
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"The goal is to stop Ebola transmission in affected countries within six to nine months, and to prevent the international spread of the virus," he said. "This can be done only if the urgent and necessary mobilization is done both in the affected countries and by the international community."</div>
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Countries affected by the epidemic include Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. An outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is unrelated to and independent of the West African epidemic, the World Health Organization has said.</div>
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It is the worst outbreak since the virus was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo. The WHO has said casualty figures may be up to four times higher than reported, and that up to 20,000 people may be affected before the outbreak ends.</div>
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"We need contributions - people, material and funding - from governments, the private sector, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations and other groups at the grass roots," said Ban after meeting with heads of U.N. agencies on the issue.</div>
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"We agreed to establish an Ebola crisis center to bring synergy and efficiency to the efforts of these many partners within and beyond the <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/subjects/united-nations?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">United Nations</a></span>," he said.</div>
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Ebola can only be transmitted by contact with the bodily fluids of a sick person, but rigorous measures are required for its containment. There is no proven cure, though work on experimental vaccines has been accelerated.</div>
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Ban urged <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=60&lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">airlines</a></span> and shipping companies not to cancel flights and docking in the affected countries. Shortages of basic goods, food and medical equipment have been worsened by a decision by some airlines to stop flying to the worst-hit countries</div>
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"Banning flights and shipping services will not keep Ebola from spreading, but it will keep medical teams from reaching people most in need," he said. "Stigma and rumor can do just as much damage as the virus itself. It is crucial to remember that Ebola can be avoided and controlled."</div>
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(Editing by <a data-ls-seen="1" href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=jonathan.oatis&" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Jonathan Oatis</a>)</div>
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U.N. to set up Ebola crisis center, aims to stop spread in six to nine months

(Reuters) - The United Nations plans to set up an Ebola crisis center to coordinate the response to the deadly virus and to strive to halt its spread in West African countries in six to nine months, …

05 Sep 2014

Ukraine, pro-Russian rebels reach ceasefire deal

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<embed src='http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=341775215&edition=BETAUS' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' allowfullscreen='true' allowScriptAccess='always' width='460' height='259' wmode='transparent'></embed> </object><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;">(Reuters) -</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;"> </span><span class="mandelbrot_refrag" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/ukraine?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Ukraine</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;">and pro-Russian rebels reached a ceasefire agreement on Friday, the first step toward ending fighting in eastern Ukraine that has caused the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cold War ended.</span><br />
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The ceasefire deal was struck in the Belarussian capital Minsk along with a deal allowing for prisoner exchanges, deliveries of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of heavy weapons after five months of a conflict that has killed more than 2,600 people.</div>
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Despite some initial shelling in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk after the truce began at 6 p.m. (1100 ET), the ceasefire appeared to be holding. But many residents and combatants were skeptical that the ceasefire could last long or provide the basis for a durable peace settlement. The two sides remain far apart on the future of the region.</div>
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Despite the deal, European Union ambassadors agreed to stronger sanctions against <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/russia?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Russia</a></span> over its involvement in the war in <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/ukraine?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Ukraine</a></span>, with the measures set to be implemented on Monday, diplomats said in Brussels.</div>
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The diplomats said the EU sanctions - the latest economic measures aimed at Moscow over Ukraine - could be suspended if the truce holds and <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/russia?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Russia</a></span> withdraws its troops from Ukraine.</div>
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"Human life is the highest value. We must do everything possible and impossible to end the bloodshed and put an end to people's suffering," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a statement announcing the truce, reached with representatives of Russia and the OSCE security watchdog.</div>
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The Kremlin welcomed the agreement, based largely on proposals made by President Vladimir Putin and leaving the pro-Russian separatists in control of vast swaths of territory.</div>
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Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, urged the sides to build on the deal and seek a permanent political settlement, although many problems remain and an earlier June ceasefire lasted only 10 days.</div>
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OBAMA WARY ABOUT CEASEFIRE</div>
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At a NATO summit in Wales, U.S. President <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/people/barack-obama?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Barack Obama</a></span>, who accuses Russia of arming the rebels and sending in troops to back them, reacted with skepticism to the deal.</div>
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"With respect to the ceasefire agreement, obviously we are hopeful but based on past experience also skeptical that in fact the separatists will follow through and the Russians will stop violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. So it has to be tested," Obama told a news conference.</div>
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"We also sent a strong message to Russia that actions have consequences. Today the United States and Europe are finalizing measures to deepen and broaden our sanctions across Russia's financial, energy and defense sectors," Obama added.</div>
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The agreement among the European Union countries expanded the package of sanctions against Russia to measures related to access to capital markets, defense, dual-use goods and sensitive technology, an EU diplomat said. The EU also expanded the list of people under an asset freeze to include the new leadership in Ukraine's Donbass region, Crimea's government and Russian decision-makers and oligarchs.</div>
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Also attending the NATO summit, Poroshenko told reporters Ukraine was ready to grant a significant decentralization of power and economic freedom to the regions as well as the right to use the language of their choice and an amnesty.</div>
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A senior rebel leader said separatists still want a formal split for their mainly Russian-speaking regions. "The ceasefire does not mean the end of (our) policy to split (from Ukraine)," Igor Plotnitsky, a leader of the Luhansk region, told reporters.</div>
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NATO also sent a firm message to Russia by approving wide-ranging plans to boost its defenses in eastern Europe, aiming to reassure allies nervous about Russia's intervention in Ukraine that the U.S.-led alliance will shield them from any attack.</div>
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The plan includes creating a "spearhead" rapid reaction force and pre-positioning supplies and equipment in eastern European countries so they can be reinforced within days in a crisis.</div>
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Minutes after the ceasefire began, three blasts were heard north of Donetsk, followed by scattered mortar and artillery fire, but this later fell quiet. The ceasefire allowed people to emerge from cellars where they have been taking shelter.</div>
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"We went out for a walk after three days of hiding, and this is a huge relief," said Lesya, 30, carrying her newborn boy in Mariupol. "But I am not optimistic. We have already seen so many broken ceasefires."</div>
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Hopes the ceasefire will hold are also clouded by Western suspicions that Putin unveiled a seven-point peace plan this week merely to dupe NATO's leaders and avert new sanctions being considered by the European Union over the crisis.</div>
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Fighting began in east Ukraine in mid-April, after Russia annexed Crimea following the removal of a Ukrainian president sympathetic to Moscow and Kiev shifted policy toward the EU.</div>
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By pushing for a ceasefire this week, Poroshenko changed his position after the tide turned in the conflict and Ukrainian troops were beaten back by a resurgent rebel force which the West says has received military support from Russia.</div>
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'ALL FOR NOTHING'</div>
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Moscow denies arming the rebels or sending in Russian troops, but Poroshenko appears worried he cannot now defeat the rebels and needs time to tackle a growing economic crisis and prepare for a parliamentary election. It is a risky move.</div>
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"If he goes for a peace plan, then all these dead and wounded and exiled and all the homes burned and jobs lost and money lost, it was all for nothing," said a Ukrainian soldier, who gave his name only as Mykola.</div>
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Putin for the first time this week put his name to a concrete peace plan, proposing seven steps which would leave rebels in control of territory that is home to about one-tenth of Ukraine's population and an even larger share of its industry. It would also require Ukraine to remain unaligned.</div>
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Although the Kremlin leader may not have secured all his goals, he had reason to secure a settlement because of the growing impact of sanctions on Russia's stuttering economy.</div>
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Public support for Putin is high because of the seizure of Crimea, a Russian territory until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave it to Ukraine 70 years ago. But this could change if the conflict drags on and many Russians are killed.</div>
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Putin's key goals appear now to be to ensure that Ukraine, a country of more than 40 million where Moscow has long had major influence, does not join NATO and that the eastern regions of Ukraine win much more autonomy.</div>
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Although Poroshenko still calls for Crimea to be part of Ukraine, there is little chance of Russia giving it up. Moscow can also hope to maintain influence in eastern Ukraine if a peace deal seals the rebels' territorial gains, creating a "frozen conflict" that ensures Ukraine is hard to govern.</div>
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the ceasefire but said "credible and comprehensive monitoring and verification are essential elements for successful implementation."</div>
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Ukraine, pro-Russian rebels reach ceasefire deal

(Reuters) - Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels reached a ceasefire agreement on Friday, the first step toward ending fighting in eastern Ukraine that has caused the worst standoff between Moscow and t…

05 Sep 2014

Exclusive: Islamic State guides Egyptian militants, expanding its influence

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A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014.</div>
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(Reuters) - Islamic State, fighting to redraw the map of the Middle East, has been coaching Egypt's most dangerous militant group, complicating efforts to stabilize the biggest Arab nation.</div>
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Confirmation that Islamic Sate, currently the most successful of the region's jihadi groups, is extending its influence to <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/egypt?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Egypt</a></span> will sound alarm bells in Cairo, where the authorities are already facing a security challenge from home-grown militants.</div>
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A senior commander from the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has killed hundreds of members of the Egyptian security forces over the last year, said Islamic State has provided instructions on how to operate more effectively.</div>
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"They teach us how to carry out operations. We communicate through the internet," the commander, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.</div>
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"They don't give us weapons or fighters. But they teach us how to create secret cells, consisting of five people. Only one person has contact with other cells."</div>
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Militant groups and the Egyptian state are old foes. Some of al Qaeda's most notorious commanders, including its current leader Ayman al-Zawahri, are Egyptian.</div>
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One Egyptian president after another has crushed militant groups but they have always resurfaced.</div>
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The success of Islamic State in seizing large parts of <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/syria?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Syria</a></span> and <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/iraq?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Iraq</a></span> has raised concerns in<span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/egypt?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Egypt</a></span>, where authorities are battling Ansar as well as militants who have capitalized on the chaos in post-Gaddafi <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/libya?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Libya</a></span> to set up over the border.</div>
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Islamic State became the first jihadi group to defeat an Arab army in a major operation after steamrolling through northern <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/iraq?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Iraq</a></span> in June almost unopposed by the Iraqi military.</div>
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MILITANT THREAT</div>
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Unlike al-Qaeda, which specializes in hit and run operations and suicide bombings, Islamic State acts like an army, seizing and holding territory, a new kind of challenge for Western-backed Arab states.</div>
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Army offensives have squeezed Ansar, forcing its members to flee to other parts of Egypt, the commander said. But it still poses a security threat.</div>
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President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has expressed concerns about militants over the Libyan frontier. Security officials say these groups are inspired by Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda notorious for beheadings and mass executions, most recently of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.</div>
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Sisi, who as army chief toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last year after mass protests against his rule and then cracked down on his Muslim Brotherhood, has restored some political stability.</div>
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But militant groups still present a major challenge. Security officials say thousands of Egyptian militants have joined Islamic State's jihad in Iraq and <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/syria?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Syria</a></span> and authorities are concerned they could return home to fight the government.</div>
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That would pile pressure on Egyptian security forces who have failed to end a campaign of bombings and shootings which killed hundreds of soldiers and police since Mursi's fall.</div>
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Egyptian security officials say leaders of Islamic State and Ansar have established contacts. Meanwhile, militants based in <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/libya?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Libya</a></span> have also forged ties with Ansar, creating a complex web.</div>
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HEADLESS CORPSES</div>
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Ansar recently said it had beheaded four Egyptians, accusing them of providing <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/israel?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Israel</a></span> with intelligence for an air strike that killed three of its fighters.</div>
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Four headless corpses were found in the Sinai Peninsula. It was the first time that any decapitations had been made public in Egypt, a strategic U.S. ally which has a peace treaty with <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/places/israel?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Israel</a></span> and controls the Suez Canal, a key global shipping route.</div>
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In a video on Twitter, armed men in black masks stood over the kneeling captives as one of the militants read out a statement. Minutes later, the four men had their heads cut off.</div>
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The Ansar commander, who said his group had contacted Islamic State for advice, described the beheadings as a clear message that anyone cooperating with the group's enemies would face a similar fate. "The beheadings had a purpose," he said.</div>
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The violence suggested a new level of radicalism in Egypt, where security crackdowns, political violence and street protests have hammered the <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/economy?lc=int_mb_1001" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">economy</a></span> since the "Arab Spring" uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.</div>
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"Ansar and Islamic State definitely have ties but there are no Islamic State members in Egypt," said a security official.</div>
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"There is definitely coordination between Ansar, the militants in Libya and Islamic State leaders."</div>
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The security official said Egyptian authorities have handed airport officials lists of Egyptians who went abroad to wage jihad.</div>
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"There are some people who we know are coming back to carry out attacks so we arrest them. The same goes for others who come back to visit their families," he said.</div>
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"There is a third type who comes back to recruit. We just watch him until the time is right to move in."</div>
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The movement of Ansar militants from the Sinai to towns and cities outside the peninsula could make it more difficult for intelligence agencies to track the group.</div>
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"We have trouble working in Sinai. It's easier elsewhere," said the Ansar commander, adding that fighters were benefiting from advice provided by Islamic State.</div>
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"They are teaching us how to attack security forces, the element of surprise," he said. "They told us to plant bombs then wait 12 hours so that the man planting the device has enough time to escape from the town he is in."</div>
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The commander said bombings not carried out by Ansar suggested new militant groups had appeared in Egypt, adding that there is a flow of militants both ways across the Libyan border.</div>
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"There are others operating in Egypt. We don't know anything about them," he said. "We have individuals who went to Libya. We lost contact."</div>
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Asked about pressure from Egypt's military, one of the biggest in the world, the commander said security offensives had created new enemies for the state.</div>
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"Every time one of us is killed, two or three others join. Usually relatives of those who are killed."</div>
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(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by <a data-ls-seen="1" href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=giles.elgood&" style="color: #006e97; cursor: pointer; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Giles Elgood</a>)</div>
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Exclusive: Islamic State guides Egyptian militants, expanding its influence

A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014. (Reuters) - Islamic State, fighting to redraw the map of …

05 Sep 2014

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Exclusive: Islamic State guides Egyptian militants, expanding its influence

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