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/ 31 March 2008

Clinton faces tough odds as Obama’s lead widens

United States Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton faced increasing odds on Monday as a new opinion poll showed rival Barack Obama consolidating his nationwide support. A Gallup tracking survey indicated the Illinois senator extending his lead over Clinton among Democrats nationally to 52% versus 42%, Obama’s largest lead of the year so far.

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/ 30 March 2008

Clinton rejects calls to quit

Hillary Clinton vowed on Saturday night to continue her battle for the party’s presidential nomination amid increasing pressure from senior Democrats for her to quit the race. Speaking to a cheering crowd at an Indianapolis high school, she said it was important to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard.

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/ 30 March 2008

Me misspeak? Now you mention it …

It was hard not to enjoy Hillary Clinton’s ”misspeaking” last week. Talking about a visit she made to Bosnia in 1996, Senator Clinton described a dramatic adventure in which her plane landed under fire and she was obliged to sprint heroically along the runway, between the bullets, in the manner of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

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/ 29 March 2008

US Senator Casey endorses Obama

United States Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania on Friday endorsed Barack Obama’s campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in a boost for the Illinois senator. Casey could help Obama win over some of the state’s white, socially conservative, blue-collar voters, many of whom are unionised and fear economic uncertainty.

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/ 28 March 2008

Clinton, Obama vow Democrats will unite

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have vowed the Democratic Party will heal its wounds, whoever wins their toxic White House race, and unite to thwart Republican John McCain. The bitter rivals spoke up amid mounting concern among party leaders that the fiercely contested battle could scupper a golden chance to grab back the White House.

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/ 28 March 2008

Embroidered memories

The most psychologically intriguing possibility regarding Hillary Clinton’s recollection of coming under sniper fire in Bosnia is that, for her, the memory is entirely accurate. Regardless of what the conditions on the ground objectively were, she was frightened about going there and felt apprehensive throughout a tour which she hoped/feared might have to be abandoned.

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/ 27 March 2008

Obama blasts McCain on economy

Democratic hopeful Barack Obama on Wednesday dismissed Republican White House candidate John McCain’s economic plan as an insult, which left homeowners to face a mortgage crunch alone. In his first campaign appearance since a short vacation, Obama fired a new volley at the Arizona senator in a battle that is sure to intensify.

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/ 26 March 2008

Obama camp turns on Clinton over pastor row

Barack Obama’s camp has accused Hillary Clinton of trying to divert attention from her exaggerated account of a 1996 trip to Bosnia after she revived a row over her rival’s fiery pastor. With Obama set to return to the campaign trail on Wednesday after a short Easter holiday, the Democratic White House foes were braced for more bitterness.

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/ 24 March 2008

US death toll in Iraq reaches 4 000

The number of United States soldiers to die in Iraq has reached 4 000, the US military said on Monday, just days after the fifth anniversary of a war that President George Bush says the US is on track to win. The US military said in a statement four soldiers were killed late on Sunday by a roadside bomb.

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/ 23 March 2008

Republicans urged to vote for Clinton

Some pundits are calling them the HillPublicans. They are hardcore Republicans who are going against their previous political beliefs and voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. The emergence of the HillPublicans now has many political observers poring over poll data and wondering what is going on.

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/ 22 March 2008

Richardson backs Obama in blow to Clinton

Senator Barack Obama won a coveted endorsement from fellow Democrat Bill Richardson on Friday as the State Department apologized for snooping into his passport files and those of his two main White House rivals. The decision by the Hispanic governor of New Mexico is a victory for Obama and could improve the Illinois Democrat’s chances of winning over Latino voters.

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/ 22 March 2008

Amid the grimness, a sense of change

The sprawling prison complex at Guantánamo Bay looks from a distance like many of the hastily built resorts round the Caribbean, the camps occupying a narrow strip of sand by the palm-lined sea-shore, with fencing to keep the locals out. But through the military checkpoint, the grimness of the world’s most infamous prison becomes apparent.

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/ 21 March 2008

Obama’s passport records improperly accessed

Contract workers for the United States State Department improperly viewed Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama’s passport records three times this year in what his campaign called ”an outrageous breach” of his privacy. The incidents, which occurred on January 9, February 21 and March 14, were quickly reported to lower-level State Department officials.

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/ 20 March 2008

Obama: Race row has ‘shaken me up’

Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on Wednesday admitted to being ”shaken” by a controversy over racial politics ignited by his pastor’s incendiary sermons. Obama, who gave a landmark speech about race in America on Tuesday, admitted in an interview with CNN that the matter had affected him personally.

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/ 19 March 2008

Five years on, Bush again talks of Iraq victory

United States President George Bush said on Wednesday he had no regrets about the unpopular war in Iraq despite the ”high cost in lives and treasure” and declared that the US was on track for victory. With less than 11 months left in office and his approval ratings near the lows of his presidency, Bush is trying to shore up support for the Iraq campaign.

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/ 19 March 2008

Obama battles to transcend toxic race row

Democratic front-runner Barack Obama battled to defuse the most serious threat yet to his presidential hopes after incendiary, racially tinged sermons by his former pastor triggered an uproar. The Illinois Senator on Tuesday condemned the sermons while standing by his black spiritual mentor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

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/ 17 March 2008

Dick Cheney makes Iraq visit

United States Vice-President Dick Cheney, an architect of the US-led invasion of Iraq, made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday to assess the success of a troop build-up five years after the war began. Cheney arrived as Republican candidate John McCain, who will be the Republican choice in November’s presidential election, was meeting Iraqi leaders.

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/ 14 March 2008

Black kids don’t cry

Casualty smells like pee and disinfectant. Red lino floors, neon lights, some of them flickering. Daniel is taken behind a powder-blue curtain, brown in some places. He tries to swallow his whimpers as he goes. In the far corner, somebody throws up. In the corridor, a doctor snaps at a nurse. Behind the front desk, a nurse snaps at a doctor.

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/ 13 March 2008

Freer world trade could bring $120bn benefit

Freer trade could bring benefits worth up to -billion a year to the world economy, according to a study on Thursday that dismisses growing unease about globalisation. The report, by two economists in Australia and Britain, also suggested greater immigration to rich nations from developing countries would raise economic growth.

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/ 12 March 2008

Obama beats Clinton in Mississippi

Democrat Barack Obama easily beat rival Hillary Clinton in Mississippi on Tuesday, giving him new momentum in their heated presidential fight as they head to the next showdown in Pennsylvania in six weeks. Obama, who would be the first black United States president, rode a wave of heavy black support to victory and extended his lead over Clinton.

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/ 11 March 2008

Obama dismisses joint ticket with Clinton

Barack Obama on Monday ridiculed rival Hillary Clinton’s repeated hints she would take him for the number two spot on her presidential ticket, accusing her of playing political games in their hard-fought Democratic nominating race. Obama, campaigning in Mississippi ahead of the state’s contest on Tuesday, said he has won more states than Clinton.

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/ 10 March 2008

Obama back on winning form in Wyoming

Barack Obama regained his winning streak on Saturday with a convincing victory over Hillary Clinton in the Wyoming caucuses, as the two candidates dig in for a long and potentially bruising haul to the Democratic presidential nomination. The result gave Obama a much-needed boost after his rival had clawed her way back into the contest with wins in Ohio and Texas.

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/ 5 March 2008

Dismay and prayers in Obama’s Kenyan village

Villagers in Barack Obama’s ancestral Kenyan home expressed disappointment on Wednesday as his rival, Hillary Clinton, won key votes to revive her campaign for the White House. Victories for Clinton in Ohio and Texas snapped Obama’s winning streak and kept alive the New York senator’s campaign to win the Democratic Party nomination.