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Ukraine Crisis Dents European Business Activity

On the day that the outlook for the European economy may have just become a little bit brighter following a cease-fire agreement in eastern Ukraine, a closely watched survey shows the extent to which the crisis in the country has weighed on business confidence across the continent.

Financial information company Markit highlighted tensions in Ukraine for a sharp fall in its monthly gauge of business activity for the 18-country eurozone.

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Following his own Rules, Monfils into U.S. Open QFs

Gael Monfils follows his own rules.

The guy does things on a tennis court no one else has — or can. Just search his name on YouTube and watch any of many video clips showcasing his speed and agility; start with the parallel-to-the-ground, a-few-feet-in-the-air dive at this year's French Open.

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Perfect Returns Help Wozniacki Return to Slam Semi

Caroline Wozniacki knew, as anyone paying attention does, that the woman she played in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, Sara Errani, does not hit booming serves.

And after noticing that Errani's previous opponent, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, tried unsuccessfully to pound those soft serves, Wozniacki decided the best course of action was simply to make sure she put those balls in play.

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Healthy Federer Back into U.S. Open Quarterfinals

A year ago at this time, Roger Federer was dealing with a bad back. He was experimenting with new rackets. And his nine-year run of reaching at least the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open ended with a fourth-round loss.

Things are different these days for the 33-year-old Federer.

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Study: Playing Music Helps Sharpen Kids' Brains

The founder of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides free music lessons to low-income students from gang-ridden neighborhoods began to notice several years ago a hopeful sign: Kids were graduating high school and heading off to UCLA, Tulane and other big universities.

That's when Margaret Martin asked how the children in the Harmony Project were beating the odds.

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Japan PM Selects 5 Women in New Cabinet 

Japan's prime minister picked a record-matching five women for his Cabinet Wednesday, sending the strongest message yet about his determination to revive the economy by getting women on board as workers and leaders.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has set a goal of having women in 30 percent of leadership positions by 2020, and proved he is out to practice what he preaches in his selection for the 18-member Cabinet, which includes Yuko Obuchi, daughter of a former prime minister, as the trade and economy minister.

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Celeb Hacking Scandal Shows Digital Vulnerability

To keep private pictures private, never upload them online.

That's the advice experts offer after hackers broke into female celebrities' personal accounts, stole nude photos and posted them on the web. Jennifer Lawrence and Mary Elizabeth Winstead have said they were victims of the hack attack.

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Pakistan: 910 Militants Killed Since June

Pakistan's military says it has killed 910 suspected militants and lost 82 soldiers in a major offensive launched in June in a restive tribal region near Afghanistan.

The military statement released Wednesday says it has cleared the main towns of Miran Shah, Mir Ali, Datta Khel, Boya and Degan, all former militant strongholds in North Waziristan, since June 15, when it launched a major operation there to eliminate local and foreign insurgents accused of orchestrating attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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Doubts Raised over British PM's Anti-Jihadist Plans

British media on Tuesday voiced skepticism over "vague" plans announced by Prime Minister David Cameron to counter the threat of jihadist fighters traveling to Iraq and Syria.

Cameron said that among the measures envisaged was a plan to give border police powers to seize passports from departing would-be jihadists and restricting the movement of suspects.

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U.N. Provides Aid for Record 4.1 Million in Syria

The World Food Program said on Tuesday that it provided food to a record 4.1 million people inside Syria last month.

The U.N. agency said it was able to reach more people because of a Security Council resolution adopted in July that authorized the movement of humanitarian aid to Syrians in rebel-held areas without government approval.

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