INTERNATIONAL
| British PM visits scene of massive floods |
| COCKERMOUTH, England - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday visited the scene of massive floods that killed one person and stranded hundreds after the heaviest rainfall on record in England. |
| Obama touts Asia trade to create jobs |
| WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama, back from a tour of Asia, called Saturday for the United States to produce more goods to sell across the Pacific, touting trade as a way to revive the troubled US economy. |
| China troops eye $23,000 bonus for Tibet service |
| BEIJING - Chinese soldiers from the southern boomtown of Guangzhou who are newly assigned to Tibet will get a “special allowance” of up to 160,000 yuan ($23,440) for serving there, a local newspaper reported on Saturday. |
| Conflicting blast reports reflect fear in Pakistan |
| PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A gas explosion injured one person and damaged a two-story building in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border Saturday. Police initially said it was a bomb but later determined it was an accident. |
| Putin backs Medvedev’s call for modernization |
| SAINT PETERSBURG - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Saturday strongly backed President Dmitry Medvedev’s call for radical economic modernization, in an apparent bid to smother talk of differences between the leaders. |
| Egypt will not be ‘lax’ in defence of nationals |
| CAIRO - President Hosni Mubarak warned on Saturday that Cairo will be firm in dealing with those who harm Egyptians, following attacks on its nationals in Algeria and Sudan over a World Cup football match. |
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