What happened
A new spasm of sectarian violence shook Iraq this week, heightening concerns that Sunni Muslims will reject the new, Shiite-dominated government and launch an all-out civil war. Following a monthlong campaign of car bombings that slaughtered more than 400 Iraqis, authorities found dozens of corpses of Sunnis in and around Baghdad, many of them shot execution-style. A top aide to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's leading Shiite religious figure, and an influential Sunni cleric were assassinated hours apart.
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Putin’s threat to fracture Ukrainefeature Fears that Russia was building a pretext for an invasion of eastern Ukraine grew, as pro-Kremlin protesters occupied government buildings in three cities.
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Curbing NSA surveillance
feature The White House said it will propose a broad overhaul of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program.
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Downsizing the military
feature A new budget plan for the Pentagon would save hundreds of billions of dollars by taking the military off its post-9/11 war footing.
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Putin ratchets up pressure on Ukraine
feature Russian President Vladimir Putin put 150,000 troops at the Ukraine border on high alert and cut off $15 billion in financial aid.
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Ukraine on the brink of civil war
feature Ukraine’s capital was engulfed in flames and violence when hundreds of riot police launched an assault on an anti-government protest camp.
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Ukraine at the breaking point
feature An alliance of opposition groups vowed protests would continue until President Viktor Yanukovych is removed from power.
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Dim prospects for Syrian talks
feature A long-awaited Syrian peace conference in Montreux, Switzerland, quickly degenerated into a cross fire of bitter accusations.
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The fight over jobless benefits
feature A bill to restore federal benefits for the long-term unemployed advanced when six Republican senators voted with Democrats.