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/ 18 January 2007

Zim vows to crack down on anti-Mugabe protests

Zimbabwean authorities will block protests planned by the opposition against President Robert Mugabe’s bid to extend his nearly 27-year-rule, a senior minister was quoted as saying on Thursday. ”They have a programme of protests all the time,” Security Minister Didymus Mutasa told the privately owned Financial Gazette weekly.

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/ 18 January 2007

Russian media scorn massive ‘terror’ alert

Russian newspapers poured scorn on Thursday on a vast anti-terrorism operation launched nationwide on Wednesday, asking whether the whole scare was just an exercise or even a politically motivated trick. Several newspapers cast doubt on Federal Security Service chief Nikolai Patrushev’s claim to have received a foreign tip-off about an imminent attack on public transport.

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/ 18 January 2007

PM calls for more US arms for Iraqi army

The United States could dramatically and quickly cut its troop presence in Iraq if it provided enough weapons to the country’s security forces, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said. Maliki called for greater US support for Iraqi troops in an interview with a group of foreign correspondents in Baghdad. Several newspapers reported his comments on Thursday.

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/ 18 January 2007

UN envoy visits Mogadishu, discusses peacekeepers

A top United Nations envoy flew to Somalia’s capital on Thursday to discuss deploying African peacekeepers in order to avoid a security vacuum after the defeat of Islamist fighters over the New Year. It was the first visit by a senior UN representative since thousands of Ethiopian and Somali government troops last month ousted the Islamists.

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/ 18 January 2007

Security guard strike: Find solution, says minister

Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana urged striking USB security guards and their employers on Thursday to settle their differences as they entered the second day of a strike. The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) — to which the guards are affiliated — said while ”things were looking up”, it was not calling off the strike.

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/ 18 January 2007

Zimbabwe targets illegal miners

The Zimbabwe government regrets the killing of a gold miner by police last week, but will continue to arrest people suspected of illegal mining and dealing in precious minerals, the country’s home affairs minister was quoted as saying on Thursday. A total of 24 890 people have been arrested since November 21.

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/ 18 January 2007

Leon lauds ID’s Cape Town move

Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon has lauded the Independent Democrats’ decision to join Cape Town’s multiparty government. ”The widening of the coalition will enable Cape Town to have a more meaningful system of delivery, free of the inefficiency and corruption that is all too typical of ANC rule elsewhere,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

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/ 18 January 2007

Ajax too strong for Arrows

The 2-0 defeat of Lamontville Golden Arrows by Ajax Cape Town in their Premier Soccer League encounter on Wednesday at Chatsworth Stadium has not dampened the team spirit. In fact, it has steered them to reinforce the squad if they are to avoid relegation at the end of the season.

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/ 18 January 2007

Freak storm causes chaos at PSL game

A freak storm, accompanied by gale-force winds, sent the entire row of wooden billboards on the east side of the Ellis Park pitch hurtling crazily through the air during the opening minutes of a Premier Soccer League (PSL) game between Orlando Pirates and Black Leopards on Wednesday.