Oil of War

There have been three deadly earthquakes already this year — in Haiti, Chile and Turkey — and a fourth that caused damage in Taiwan. Is this a coincidence? Seismologists can’t answer that question directly, but they say there’s a growing realization that big earthquakes can trigger other earthquakes many thousands of miles away.

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A pair of suicide bombers targeting army vehicles detonated explosives within seconds of each other Friday, killing at least 43 people in the eastern city of Lahore and wounding about 100, police said. It was the fourth major attack in Pakistan this week, indicating Islamist militants are stepping up violence after a period of relative calm.

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The action prevents Palestinians from entering Israel because of fears of unrest following recent protests. The closure began at midnight Thursday and will end at midnight Saturday.

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates is wrapping up a week-long tour through Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. A common thread ran through talks in all the capital cities he visited: Iran. U.S. allies are raising concerns ranging from Tehran’s meddling in Afghanistan to its nuclear ambitions.

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Suicide bombers targeted the Pakistani military in Lahore Friday. It was the fourth major attack in Pakistan this week, indicating Islamist militants are stepping up violence after a period of relative calm.

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Ahead of regional elections later this month, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing coalition is facing a storm of accusations over alleged corruption. Beyond politics, many Italians report a “feeling of decay” amid a culture of fraud. An estimated one-third of Italians evade their taxes.

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His former archdiocese acknowledged it transferred a suspected pedophile priest while Benedict XVI was in charge, but said he did not know about the transfer. Criticism is also mounting over a 2001 Vatican directive he wrote instructing bishops to keep abuse cases secret.

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The State Department said the secretary of state called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express frustration about a plan to build 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem. Tuesday’s announcement cast a pall over a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden and has endangered indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.

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