Politics

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A Belarusian pro-democracy activist Pavel Marozau, the head of ARU TV, explains in an animated film his motivations for producing political satire. The internet television ARU TV produces political satire and other programs for Belarusians, but it avoids state censorship by operating abroad, in Estonia. (ARU TV)

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Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, campaigns in Phoenix. The six-term congressman seeks re-election as both a Republican primary opponent and Democrats are portraying him as a Washington insider because he worked as a lobbyist 20 years ago for a Namibian uranium operation. (Associated Press)

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President Obama is in a close race with his presumed Republican rival, according to the findings of a weekend Washington Times/JZ Analytics poll and other national polls. But there's more enthusiasm for Mr. Obama. (Associated Press)

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Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, May 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta (right), Philippines' Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin (left) and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario speak at a news conference at the Department of State in Washington in April. The U.S. increased military aid and resolved to help its ally on maritime security. The Philippines is locked in a standoff with China. (Associated Press)

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The state of North Carolina, where voters recently approved amending the state constitution to ban gay marriage, was once a bright spot for President Obama but now has become a sore subject for Democrats. (Associated Press)

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Columbia University janitor Gac Filipaj, an ethnic Albanian who left his native Montenegro 20 years ago to escape war, give a thumbs-up during the School of General Studies graduation ceremony in New York on Sunday. (Associated Press)

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An Afghan soldier patrols the gate of a military hospital Sunday in Kabul. An assassin earlier in the day fatally shot Arsala Rahmani, a top member of the Afghan peace council and a senator in Parliament. (Associated Press)

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Social Democratic Party top candidate for the state elections of North Rhine-Wesphalia, Hannelore Kraft, celebrates Sunday after first results are made public in Duesseldorf, Germany. The nation's industrial and most populous state gave the center-left party 39 percent of the vote. (Associated Press)

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President Barack Obama poses for a photo after honoring the 2012 National Association of Police Organizations TOP COPS award winners, Saturday, May 12, 2012, during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

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A supporter of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko holds a poster during a meeting of the country's opposition party in Kiev. Lithuania's president has warned Ukraine it could become isolated by the West over the imprisonment and deteriorating health of the jailed former prime minister. (Associated Press)