TOKYO (AFP) — Japan is to allow imports of whale meat from Iceland for the first time since 1991, a report said Sunday. Nations across the world are signed up to an agreement not to hunt whales for commercial purposes but Japan said it was not breaking the accord and…

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A California pastor told his parishioners to attend confessional if they had voted for President-elect Barack Obama because of his stance on abortion, the McClatchy Tribune reported. The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Modesto, Calif., said voting for a pro-choice candidate amounted to a punishable…

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The members of President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet will be “much less ideological” than those in the Bush administration, a former Bush strategist said Sunday. Speaking with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Matthew Dowd said Obama chose many people who he has frequently disagreed with in the past, not least of which is…

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WASHINGTON (AFP) — Former US president Bill Clinton has agreed to disclose the names of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation so his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton to become secretary of state, The New York Times reported Sunday. The move is part of an agreement with President-elect Barack Obama…

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Sen. Saxby Chambliss told Fox’s Chris Wallace that he would “win again” in Georgia’s runoff election. Chambliss appeared on Fox News Sunday. “If voters turnout in the same ratios and same numbers we’ll win again,” Chambliss said. Projections suggest that black voters will only make up 23 percent of the…

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GENEVA (AFP) — Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to decriminalise cannabis by a clear majority in a nationwide referendum, Swiss news agency ATS reported. Switzerland is the heaviest user of cannabis in Europe according to a recent study but the proposal to decriminalise the drug failed to win…

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DOHA (AFP) — US president-elect Barack Obama could make an “amazing” difference for the world’s poor if he fulfils his campaign pledges, the head of the UN’s Millennium Campaign said in an interview with AFP on Sunday. Outgoing President George W. Bush kept his promises on international aid but did…

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Fox’s Alisyn Camerota talked with Bob Beckel and former Republican Senator Rick Santorum about how the attacks in Mumbai would effect Barack Obama’s policies. Camerota asked Santorum, “Is it hard to get a handle on exactly where Barack Obama stands on how he would handle terrorists when we know that…

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The president-elect’s inaugural committee said Tuesday that it would limit contributions to $50,000 per donor. Previous inaugurations had much lower limits. President Bush limited donations to $250,000. It is not yet known how many inaugural balls will be thrown for Obama but White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto thinks…

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In a preview of his weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama addressed the nation on the occasion of Thanksgiving, nearly one hundred and fifty years after President Lincoln called for the last Thursday in November to be set aside to acknowledge our blessings. This video is from Change.gov, broadcast Nov. 26,…

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