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/ 6 February 2008

Tornadoes rake US South, at least 26 dead

Tornadoes and thunderstorms ravaged several states in the American South overnight, killing at least 26 people, injuring dozens and causing widespread damage, emergency services and local media said. CNN reports put the death toll at 27. The violent storms swept across Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi.

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/ 6 February 2008

The grim repo: 1,28m US homes threatened by bailiffs

The sheer scale of the misery wreaked by the United States sub-prime mortgage crisis became clear on Tuesday in research showing that more than 1% of Ameri- can households were hit with some stage of repossession proceedings last year. About 2,2-million foreclosure docu­ments — including default notices, auction sale notices and repossession papers — were filed on 1,28-million­ properties last year.

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/ 6 February 2008

World economy heads for the pooh

The International Monetary Fund this week cut its forecast for global growth this year as it warned of a possible chain reaction from the six-month-old credit crunch rippling through the global economy. Predicting the weakest expansion since 2003, the IMF said tougher lending standards imposed as a result of the sub-prime meltdown in the United States threatened to curb consumer spending in the West.

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/ 6 February 2008

Wading though rivers to count dead bodies

To count the dead, they ride motorbikes, charter planes and wade through snake-infested rivers. The precious statistic can help aid agencies convince a weary world there is a crisis in the jungles of Africa or forgotten corners of Iraq — where death comes from hunger and disease related to war, as well as from war itself.

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/ 6 February 2008

Field cut to two-horse contest in both parties

The contest for the White House claimed its biggest casualties so far this week when John Edwards (right) and Rudy Giuliani pulled out, turning it into a two-horse race for both the Democrats and Republicans. The Democratic duo, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, immediately began to court Edwards for his endorsement and scramble for his supporters ahead of ”Super Tuesday”.

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/ 6 February 2008

Not a warm welcome from all

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, aka the Baddest Man on the Planet, is no role model, in or out of the ring. The uncontrollable rage that drew Tyson from the streets into the ring also proved to be his undoing several times throughout his boxing career, as he succumbed to his aggressive impulses and substance abuse.