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/ 2 February 2008

China arrests leading rights activist

Chinese state security forces have arrested one of the country’s most prominent civil rights activists in an apparent crackdown on dissent ahead of the Olympics. Hu Jia — who used blogs, webcasts and video to expose human rights abuses — is expected to face charges of inciting subversion of state power, his lawyers said on Saturday.

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/ 2 February 2008

US campaign frenzy ahead of Super Tuesday

White House hopefuls have launched a frantic blitz with the stakes enormous heading into ”Super Tuesday” and the home stretch of the costliest and longest United States election campaign in history. Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were criss-crossing the country over the weekend.

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/ 2 February 2008

Bus ripped open by bomb in Sri Lanka

A bomb exploded on a civilian bus in the central Sri Lankan town of Dambulla on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50, the military said. The explosion was the latest in a series of bomb attacks blamed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan, rebels fighting to create an independent state in the island’s north and east.

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/ 2 February 2008

No end to China’s wild winter weather

Emergency crews struggled on Saturday to restore power to parts of southern China blacked out for a week by heavy snow as forecasters warned of no quick end to the worst winter weather in 50 years. The freak weather has killed at least 60 people and doomed millions to a cold, dark Lunar New Year holiday.

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/ 2 February 2008

Annan brokers deal in Kenya

Kenya’s government and opposition struck an agreement on Friday to take immediate steps to try to end tribal bloodshed in a five-week-old political stand-off in which about 850 people have been killed. Meanwhile, 27 people have been killed in fresh violence in western Kenya, police said on Saturday.

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/ 2 February 2008

Pollock bids Durban farewell

AB de Villiers struck a confident 77 while Shaun Pollock bid an emotional home town farewell as South Africa beat the West Indies by five wickets at Kingsmead on Friday to maintain a perfect record in the one-day series. Pollock delighted a capacity crowd by hitting the winning boundary to seal South Africa’s win.

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/ 2 February 2008

Truck driver shot after collision

A truck driver was shot and wounded by a man in a car with which he had collided in Randburg on Friday, said Netcare 911. Spokesperson Nick Dollman said the truck driver apparently went through a red traffic light, colliding with the passenger side of a family car. A mother and her two young children were injured in the collision.

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/ 2 February 2008

ANC MP backs down on prostitution comments

An African National Congress (ANC) MP on Friday apologised to women for his comments that prostitution be legalised ahead of the Soccer World Cup. ”I wish to submit my profound and unreserved apology to all women of South Africa for the manner in which these comments in the portfolio committee were attributed,” said George Lekgetho.