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Browns sign tight end Watson to 3-year deal

Karl Rove is proud that the US used water torture to break the will of prisoners and foil terror plots A senior adviser to former US president George Bush has said he is proud that the country used waterboarding to elicit information from terrorism suspects. Karl Rove , Bush’s chief political strategist for much of his presidency, defended the interrogation approach authorised during Bush’s tenure, saying he was “proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists”

Government tells residents to leave battle zone as al-Shabaab militia takes positions near presidential palace Somalia was today embroiled in some of its fiercest fighting for nearly a year as government troops shelled advancing rebels in the capital, Mogadishu. The Islamist militia group al-Shabaab attacked government positions near the president’s palace and four people were killed by return fire, witnesses said. The violence erupted in the Wardhigley district in the early hours, the third day of battles between the insurgents and government forces backed by African Union troops.

Party leader accuses education officials of taking no action against teachers promoting leftwing politics The British National party (BNP) has accused local education authorities of taking no action against “leftwing teachers … promoting their own politically correct brand of politics” as it welcomed ministers’ decision not to ban BNP members from the profession

At least 39 killed and 95 wounded in suicide blasts which appeared to target Pakistani military Twin blasts rocked Lahore today, hitting a high-security military district and killing at least 39 people. Unconfirmed reports put the death toll at up to 50, while more than 95 people were injured.

New Zealand protester could face up to three years in jail for illegally boarding vessel during Antarctic hunt The Japanese coastguard has arrested an activist from New Zealand for illegally boarding a whaling ship last month. Peter Bethune, a member of the US-based group Sea Shepherd, is accused of jumping aboard the vessel from a jetski in the Southern Ocean, where Japan was conducting its annual whale hunt

Commander of new police rapid-response force among victims of explosion after gun battle in eastern Afghanistan Insurgents opened fire on a police post in eastern Afghanistan and detonated a roadside bomb as police reinforcements arrived, killing three officers. Among the dead was the commander of a new police rapid-response force created in Paktia province to deal with Taliban threats, said Azizudin Wardak, the provincial police chief. Two more members of the elite force were wounded, while another officer was injured in the gun battle near Gardez, the provincial capital, last night

Victory ends 20-year run for leftist coalition that led country back to democracy after Pinochet’s dictatorship The billionaire businessman Sebastián Piñera was today sworn in as Chile’s president and almost immediately ordered coastal residents to flee to higher ground as the country was hit by the largest aftershock since last month’s devastating earthquake.

Prime minister’s coalition ahead in southern Shia provinces as electoral commission releases first preliminary results Early results from Iraq’s election show a coalition headed by the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, leading in two southern Shia provinces. The first preliminary results to be released by the electoral commission showed Maliki leading in Najaf and Babil provinces, south of Baghdad. Results from the rest of the country are still being counted after the election on Sunday .

• Violence erupts in Athens over swingeing spending cuts • General strike disrupts public and transport services • In pictures: Greek strike protests turn violent Greek police fired teargas to disperse protesters throwing rocks and firebombs outside parliament today as more than 20,000 people marched through Athens to protest against new austerity measures to tackle the country’s debt. A strike by public and private sector workers brought the country to halt, grounding all flights and stopping public transport.