Reuters World News Highlights at 1545 GMT, Jan 25
Jan 25 (Reuters) - TOP STORIES
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CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA - Protesters clashed with police across Egypt on Friday on the second anniversary of the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, taking to the streets against an elected Islamist president whose opponents say is trampling over the new democracy.
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SEOUL - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month.
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SEGOU/BAMAKO, Mali - French-backed government forces advanced into northern Mali on Friday towards the Islamist rebel stronghold of Gao, recapturing the town of Hombori, as they followed up on relentless French air strikes against the rebels.
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MOSCOW - Russia's parliament backed a draft law on Friday banning "homosexual propaganda", in what critics see as a attempt to shore up support for President Vladimir Putin in the country's largely conservative society.
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AMMAN - The Syrian army has stepped up an offensive on opposition Sunni Muslim strongholds in the central city of Homs, bringing in ground forces and loyalist militia to try to secure a major road junction, opposition sources said on Friday.
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FALLUJA, Iraq - Iraqi troops shot dead at least four people during clashes with Sunni Muslim protesters in Falluja on Friday in escalating unrest against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
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VIENNA/ZURICH - The U.N. nuclear watchdog signalled on Friday it would keep trying to secure Iran's cooperation with a long-stalled investigation, but a senior Iranian lawmaker suggested Tehran would only cooperate if it won sanctions relief in return.
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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Friday will name longtime foreign policy aide Denis McDonough as his next White House chief of staff, tapping a trusted loyalist to help drive his second-term agenda as he unveils a major overhaul of senior staff.
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BEIJING - China and Japan sought to cool down tensions over a chafing territorial dispute on Friday, with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping telling an envoy from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he was committed to developing bilateral ties.
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BEIJING - China's disgraced former senior politician, Bo Xilai, will go on trial next week, a Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper said on Friday, in what would be the final act of a drama that has shaken the ruling Communist Party.
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ATHENS - Striking Greek subway workers trickled back to work on Friday after the government threatened them with arrest, ending a nine-day walkout that paralysed public transport in Athens.
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ISTANBUL - Turkey's parliament has passed a law allowing defendants to use Kurdish in court, but Kurdish politicians said it fell short of their demands as the EU candidate country seeks to advance peace talks with the jailed leader of a 28-year-old insurgency.
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MOGADISHU - Al Shabaab on Friday said its Christian enemies had closed its Twitter account, which the Somali militant group used to parade hostages, mock rivals and claim responsibility for bombings and assassinations.