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/ 27 February 2006
The turbulent trial of Saddam Hussein and seven former cohorts resumes on Tuesday with the ousted dictator ending a hunger strike and his lawyers considering lifting their boycott of the court. After a hearing on February 14, Saddam announced that he was on a hunger strike amid chaotic scenes.
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/ 27 February 2006
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Armed with wellington boots, President Thabo Mbeki on Monday experienced life in a rain-soaked informal settlement: mud, water and a leaky roof. Mbeki was campaigning in Rustenburg, ward 13 — normally known as Ramochana, not far from the local prison. Engaging residents in the vernacular, Mbeki asked after their concerns.
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/ 27 February 2006
Dutch banks said on Monday they are to take urgent measures to end a spate of thefts from automatic telling machines (ATMs) by criminals blowing them up with gas. The ATMs are to be protected by the relatively simple measure of adding a ventilation grill to money machines thought likely to be targets.
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/ 27 February 2006
Heavily armed soldiers surrounded Afghanistan’s main high security prison on Sunday night, after Taliban and al-Qaeda inmates led a revolt that left at least 30 people wounded and possibly several dead. At least 1 500 prisoners barricaded themselves into the two main wings of Pul-i-Charki prison after a riot erupted on Saturday night over new uniform regulations.
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/ 27 February 2006
The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned Hamas on Sunday night that he will resign if the group makes it impossible for him to carry out his duties as president. Abbas has stated that he wants peace negotiations with Israel to establish a Palestinian state and that Hamas will have to abide by these rules if it forms a government.
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/ 27 February 2006
Iraq is on the verge of breaking up along religious, ethnic and tribal lines — a process bloodily amplified by the Shia versus Sunni violence in the wake of last week’s bomb attack on the gold-domed shrine in Samarra, the International Crisis Group says in a report out on Monday.
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/ 27 February 2006
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Traditional leaders would be given powers at local government level under African Christian Democratic Party rule, party leader Kenneth Meshoe said on Sunday. He was speaking in a church at Barcelona informal settlement in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, on the East Rand.
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/ 27 February 2006
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Thousands attended the Inkatha Freedom Party’s final election rally near Port Shepstone on Sunday to hear leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi attack the African National Congress and its stance on corruption. He said crossing the floor — when councillors are allowed to change parties without losing their seats — fuels corruption.
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/ 27 February 2006
Heavy rains have cut off the main road from the South African border to Windhoek after the southern Namibian town of Mariental was flooded at the weekend, officials said on Monday. More than 2 000 people were evacuated from their homes in the town, about 280km south of Windhoek.
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/ 27 February 2006
Scientists have found that 70% of the world’s oceans appear to be free from sharks because the animals cannot live below 3 000m, raising fears about their long-term survival. This leaves sharks at greater risk of coming into contact with humans. Monty Priede, a marine biologist at the University of Aberdeen, said: ”Sharks are apparently confined to about 30% of the world’s oceans.”