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HALIFAX, Canada (Reuters) - Hurricane Earl lashed into the Canadian Maritime provinces on Saturday, picking up wind speed in warm Atlantic waters after a surprisingly tame brush with the U.S. East Coast.



NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. government is likely to take a loss on General Motors Co in the first offering of the automaker's stock, six people familiar with preparations for the landmark IPO said.



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.



WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Authorities declared an overnight curfew for Saturday after a major earthquake hit New Zealand's second biggest city, Christchurch, bringing down power lines and bridges and wrecking roads and building facades.



MEHMOOD KOT, Pakistan (Reuters) - Crime and the sale of donated aid supplies are undermining the aid effort for Pakistan's flood victims.



MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican judge ordered Edgar "La Barbie" Valdez, believed to be one of the country's top drug bosses, held for 40 more days of investigation, the federal prosecutor's office said on Saturday.



KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan peace council to pursue talks with the Taliban has been set up, President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday, the latest step in a gradual move toward reconciliation with the Islamist insurgents.



QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber struck a rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 54 people in the second major attack this week and piling pressure on a U.S.-backed government overwhelmed by a flood crisis.



HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. government inspectors found no leaking oil at Mariner Energy Inc's burned platform in the Gulf of Mexico, officials said late on Friday, allaying fears about more environmental damage after BP's massive spill.



HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc successfully replaced a failed blowout preventer from atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well late on Friday, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said.


