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/ 30 January 2006
Natural disasters were on the rise last year, leaving tens of millions of people destitute and in need of aid, but they claimed fewer lives, a United Nations monitoring body said on Monday. The overall death toll dropped to 91 900, with 73 338 of the dead in Pakistan’s quake zone alone.
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/ 30 January 2006
A German archaeological mission stumbled on a mystery with the discovery of three partial pharaonic statues in Luxor, Egyptian officials announced on Monday, because one appears to date to a later period than most previous finds at the site. Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities announced the discovery on Monday.
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/ 30 January 2006
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) appealed on Monday for -million in aid to Sudan, saying aid coupled with long-term development is crucial to lasting peace there. The agency said that despite a peace accord in 2005, Sudan’s humanitarian needs for 2006 ”remain immense”.
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/ 30 January 2006
Nigerian insurgents released four kidnapped foreign contractors on Monday, but immediately vowed to press home a series of violent attacks against the country’s key oil and gas industries. ”We will shortly carry out greatly significant attacks,” said the militants in a statement from an e-mail account used by the hostage takers.
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/ 30 January 2006
International experts on the sea turtle met on the West African archipelago of São Tome on Monday for a two-day conference on saving the creatures from extinction. The conference aims to encourage the local authorities and population to protect the turtles, which lay their eggs on the islands’ beaches.
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/ 30 January 2006
South African authorities have confirmed reports showing that the massive influx of illegal immigrants into the country shows no signs of abating. A total of 2 386 illegal immigrants have been arrested by the South African police since December 29, Limpopo police spokesperson Ronel Otto said on Monday.
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/ 30 January 2006
South African Rugby Union president Brian van Rooyen could walk away from facing 11 counts of poor corporate governance without answering a question. A possible deal with SA Rugby could see the end of the inquiry, to be chaired by Judge Joos Hefer, before it even begins.
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/ 30 January 2006
Critics tore into a British police force that erected placards in "trendy" SMS-style patois in what was slammed as a "bizarre" attempt to get hip with the kids, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Avon and Somerset Police plastered baffling messages across rough estates in Bristol, south-west England.
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/ 30 January 2006
Pampered zoo animals in the Swiss city of Zurich gobbled up 500 tonnes of fresh food prepared by a dedicated gourmet chef last year, including 21 tonnes of meat, 714 garlic bulbs and 11 135 kiwi fruit. More traditional dishes were also on offer for the 4 000 animals.
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/ 30 January 2006
Opposition parties have urged Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana to reopen his investigation into aspects of the Oilgate scandal. The Democratic Alliance wants Mushwana to reinvestigate the loan made by oil company Imvume Management’s Sandi Majali to the wife of Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya.