People are dying because of an audacious cash policy that India says will modernize its economy and other top stories.

• People are dying because of an audacious cash policy that India says will modernize its economy

  

  Usha Boinavad, a farmworker in western India who underwent a heart operation as a teenager, began suffering from chest pains this month. A doctor advised the 26-year-old to seek heart valve surgery in the nearest major city, 200 miles away.She immediately ran into another problem: cash. The procedure would cost at least $1,500, far more than what she and her husband had in their bank account. But with India in the grip of a severe currency shortage since the government invalidated 86% of the ..

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• World's oldest male panda Pan Pan dies aged 31

  

  Image copyright AFP Image caption Pan Pan was diagnosed with cancer in June - nine months after his 30th birthday Pan Pan, the world's oldest male panda has died in China aged 31, six months after being diagnosed with cancer.His more than 130 descendants account for a quarter of the world's captive-bred panda population. Born in the wild in Sichuan in China, he was taken into captivity when he was just a few months old.The world's oldest female panda ..

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• At Least 10 Killed in Mine Collapse in Eastern India

  

  PATNA, India — A coal mine collapse in eastern India killed at least 10 workers and 13 others may be trapped by the mound of fallen earth, police said Friday.The collapse happened late Thursday but heavy smog prevented rescue workers from entering the open coal mine until early Friday morning, said S.K. Singh, the general manager of the Rajmahal Open Cast Mines in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.The rescue work was to stop at nightfall.Jharkhand police spokesman R.K. Malik said 23 work..

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• Cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey begins across Syria

  

  A cease-fire announced by the Syrian government went into ­effect across the country early Friday as part of a broader deal that includes a return to peace talks to end more than five years of war. Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reestablished control over the northern city of Aleppo earlier this month, forcing rebels to flee what was once their largest stronghold and handing the government a victory that appeared to bring the war’s endgame into view. The Assad government, back..

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• New Year's Eve calendar: Where to celebrate 2017

  

  If so, plenty of fun opportunities on Saturday night can help you ring in the new year. Just as the ball drop in New York City's Times Square is the iconic New Year's Eve event on the East Coast, our region's big draw is the midnight fireworks display ...

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• Romanian President Nominates Regional Politician as Next PM

  

  BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania's president on Friday nominated a regional politician as the next prime minister, after turning down an economist who could have become the country's first female Muslim premier.President Klaus Iohannis endorsed Sorin Grindeanu, 43, to become premier. Grindeanu is a member of the Social Democratic Party that won Dec. 11 elections, and chairman of the Timis county council. Parliament needs to approve him.Grindeanu said he hoped the new government would be approved b..

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The world's largest diamonds reveal secrets of the inner Earth .	Iraqi armored division closing in on Mosul .
Powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits off Papau New Guinea .	Christmas bird counts flock in on Olympic Peninsula .