South Sudan’s new flag raised at the UN HQ

Ethiopia , Eritrea and Somalia urged to resolve differences peacefully:

UNITED NATIONS: South Sudan became the 193rd member of the United Nations Thursday when the U.N. General Assembly approved the country’s membership by acclamation. South Sudan’s new flag was raised for the first time outside United Nations headquarters in a brief ceremony symbolizing the country’s U.N. membership that was acclaimed just over an hour earlier by the General Assembly.

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Italian budget set for fast-track approval

ITALY: Silvio Berlusconi’s austerity budget for Italy for the next three years is on course to gain fast-track approval in parliament on Friday, but the centre-left opposition is not letting up in its demands that the billionaire prime minister resign immediately.

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Cuban workers union reviews salary system to boost economic reforms

CUBA: The Cuban Workers’ Central Union (CTC) was attending meetings at state-run companies across the country to review the salary system to help push forward economic reforms, a CTC official said Thursday.

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