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BAGHDAD (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry today has urged Iraq's top Shiite leaders to give more power to political opponents. Today's meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (NOO'-ree ahl-MAHL'-ih-kee) in Baghdad isn't expected to bring any immediate results, as Iraqi leaders have been trying to avoid the appearance of being controlled by Washington. But Kerry appeared encouraged after the meeting, which ran for a little more than 90 minutes.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's top electoral officer is stepping down. It's a move aimed at resolving a political crisis over allegations of massive fraud in a runoff presidential vote earlier this month. One of the two candidates has said his campaign monitors had found ballot box stuffing and other irregularities. The crisis is threatening what Western officials had hoped would be a peaceful transfer of authority.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — The organization in charge of overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons program says the last of the country's acknowledged stockpile has been handed over. Syria's government agreed to surrender its arsenal last fall when the U.S. threatened punitive missile strikes after a deadly chemical attack on a rebel-held suburb of Damascus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court isn't going to get involved in a battle over an abortion law in Wisconsin. The state wanted to start enforcing a law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. But the fight over the law is still playing out in lower federal courts. And the Supreme Court today refused to interfere with a judge's order putting the law on hold, for now.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are lower in early trading today, after the market began the week at record-high levels. Shares of Micros Systems are higher after software maker Oracle said it was buying the company for about $5.3 billion.
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