Politics

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In this Nov. 15, 2012 file photo, new Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping attends the press event to introduce the newly-elected members of the Politburo Standing Committee at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. Xi is highlighting corruption as a scourge that could bring down the Communist Party, though he has yet to offer any specific new proposals to stop it. In a weekend speech that was carried Monday, Nov. 19, by the official Xinhua News Agency, Xi told the new 25-member Politburo that the party must be vigilant against graft, noting that corruption in other countries in recent years has prompted major social unrest and the collapse of governments. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

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Russian human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva speaks at a news conference in Moscow, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. Russian non-government organizations say they will ignore a new Kremlin law obliging those of them that receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.” Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a Soviet-era dissident who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group said Thursday that Russian rights activists have “survived the Soviet power and .. will survive this.” (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

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Opposition fighters celebrate capturing a tank after storming a military base in Aleppo, Syria, on Monday. Islamist rebels refuse to join a Western-backed coalition. (Associated Press)

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Tori Spelling performs in a scene from the ABC Family original holiday musical, “The Mistle-Tones,” also starring Tia Mowry. The special airs Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. (ABC via Associated Press)

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**FILE** A Syrian father and two of his sons salvage furniture from their home in Maraat al-Numan, Syria, on Nov. 17, 2012. The house was destroyed in bombing by government forces. (Associated Press)

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Smoke and fire are seen from an explosion by a high rise housing media organizations in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. It's the Israel's military second strike on the building in two days. The Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, is located on the top floor. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

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Humberto de la Calle, head of Colombia's peace negotiation team, speaks to journalists before embarking to Havana for a round of talks with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, at the military airport in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/William Fernando Martinez)

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**FILE** A huge screen shows a broadcast of China's new Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping speaking in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Nov. 15, 2012. (Associated Press)