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						In Syria, Russia securing position as Assad presses war						 With the map of Syria’s conflict decisively redrawn in President Bashar al-Assad’s favor, his Russian allies want to convert military gains into a settlement that stabilizes the shattered nation and secures their interests in the region. 
 
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						EU agrees clampdown on bitcoin platforms to tackle money laundering						 European Union states and legislators agreed on Friday on stricter rules to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing on exchange platforms for bitcoin and other virtual currencies, the EU said in a statement. 
 
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						Alibaba, Ford to cooperate in search for new retail opportunities						 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) has signed a deal with Ford Motor Co (F.N) to explore cooperation in areas such as cloud computing, connectivity and retail which could involve the sale of Ford cars on Alibaba’s online retail platform Tmall. 
 
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						Ukraine - biggest obstacle to normal Russia ties, says Tillerson						 The United States would “badly” like to lift sanctions against Russia but will not do so until Moscow has pulled its forces out of eastern Ukraine and Crimea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday, calling that the main obstacle to normal ties. 
 
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						North Korea says U.S. threats make war unavoidable, China urges calm						 Two American B-1B heavy bombers joined large-scale combat drills over South Korea on Thursday amid warnings from North Korea that the exercises and U.S. threats have made the outbreak of war “an established fact.” 
 
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						Irish PM says can pick up Brexit talks in new year if deal not possible						 Brexit negotiations can move to phase two next week only on the basis of the tentative Irish border agreement which collapsed on Monday, otherwise talks to break through the impasse will resume in the new year, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday. 
 
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						Russia's Olympic ban strengthens Putin's re-election hand						 Opinion polls show Vladimir Putin is already a shoo-in to win a fourth presidential term. But a ban on Russia taking part in the Winter Olympics is likely to make support for him even stronger, by uniting voters around his message: The world is against us 
 
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						Defying warnings of unrest, Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital						 President Donald Trump abruptly reversed decades of U.S. policy on Wednesday and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, generating outrage from Palestinians and defying warnings of unrest in the Middle East. 
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