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Obama's grandmother dies of cancer in Hawaii

Obama's grandmother dies of cancer in Hawaii Washington - Barack Obama's grandmother, who helped raise the Democratic presidential candidate in Hawaii, passed away Monday after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Madelyn Dunham, 85, had been gravely ill for weeks, prompting Obama to interrupt his campaign for a few days last month to visit her in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"She was the cornerstone of our family and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility," read a statement from Obama and his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. "Our debt to her is beyond measure."

Financial crisis forces German banks to tap state aid

Financial crisis forces German banks to tap state aid

Cuba: World needs a rational US president

Cuba: World needs a rational US president Havana - Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage said on the eve of elections in the United States that the world needs a US president who is rational and intelligent, rather than mad.

"That can't be too much to ask," said Lage, who is considered a supporter of economic liberalization on the communist-ruled island.

He spoke at the opening of a trade fair in Havana.

US President George W Bush, who leaves office in January after eight years, has been a harsh critic of the Cuban regime.

MySpace offers content owners ad deal

MySpace offers content owners ad dealLos Angeles - Online media site MySpace is offering the owners of copyright material the chance to cash in on its online popularity.

MySpace said Monday that it had reached a deal with media giant Viacom whereby it will insert adds into the company's video excerpts that are screened on its site and pay the media giant a slice of the revenues.

Prior to this arrangement, the only procedure MySpace followed in dealing with copyrighted material was to try and identify it and block its appearance on the popular social networking site.

UN chief ready to meet with Rwanda, Congo leaders

UN chief ready to meet with Rwanda, Congo leadersNew York - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he was ready to meet with the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to bring an end to the fighting that has created a fresh humanitarian crisis in Congo's provinces.

Ban said he would visit Africa either this week or next week if Congolese President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame were to agree on a meeting somewhere in that continent.

Ban, who had spoken to both leaders, said Kagame and Kabila have begun a dialogue along with their separate teams.

Hamas leader calls for dialogue with Palestinians

Hamas leader calls for dialogue with PalestiniansBeirut - Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal called on Monday for dialogue to resolve the tense situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

"We have called for the launch of a Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue to discuss all the problems of Palestinian camps, Ain el-Hilweh or others," Mashaal said in Beirut, referring to the tension inside the camp which is located east of the southern port city of Sidon.

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