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/ 22 January 2007

Day of death as bombs rock Baghdad

Two car bombs ripped through a busy market in Baghdad on Monday, killing 88 people in fresh violence of the kind that United States and Iraqi forces plan to target in a new offensive in the lawless capital. Hours later, at least 14 people were killed and 40 wounded when a bomb exploded in a town near Baquba, north-east of Baghdad, police sources said.

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/ 22 January 2007

US: 93 fighters linked to al-Qaeda killed in Iraq

The United States military said on Monday 93 rebels were killed and 57 captured in a 10-day operation against al-Qaeda-linked insurgents north-east of Baghdad. In an unusually detailed video news conference broadcast to journalists in Baghdad, Colonel David Sutherland said Iraqi troops had fought well in the operation and were improving their capabilities every day.

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/ 22 January 2007

Police swoop on R270m-worth of drugs

North West police have seized drugs with an estimated street value of R270-million from a factory on a farm near Hartbeespoort Dam. Police spokesperson Superintendent Pieter du Plessis said: ”The drug ‘ice’ was seized on Monday morning when the Potchefstroom organised-crime unit and South African Revenue Service Pretoria investigators reacted to a tip-off …”

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/ 22 January 2007

US missile shield ‘a clear threat’ to Moscow

United States plans to set up an anti-missile system in the Czech Republic are ”a clear threat” to Russia, a Russian general said Monday, quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency. ”Our analysis shows that the location of the US base would be a clear threat to Russia,” General Vladimir Popovkin, who commands a division of the Russian army in charge of space technology, was quoted as saying.

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/ 22 January 2007

Bodies of illegal miners found in Barberton

The bodies of five men who died while illegally mining gold near Barberton were found on Monday, Mpumalanga police said. Superintendent Benjamin Bhembe said the bodies were found in a search by the miners’ families and friends. ”This [Monday] morning they recovered the body of one miner and they continued their search.

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/ 22 January 2007

EU seeks funds for Darfur peace force

The European Union on Monday urged increased support for the peacekeeping force in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, as the EU’s executive arm declared that it had no more funds to offer. EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, committed to continue funding the contingent until a new force combining African Union and United Nations troops can be deployed.