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/ 30 December 2003
Noted linguist and author Charles Berlitz, whose book sparked interest in the Bermuda Triangle and whose grandfather founded the language schools that bear the family name, has died at age 90. Berlitz was known for his bestseller The Bermuda Triangle and other books on paranormal phenomena.
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/ 30 December 2003
The Nation of Islam is rallying to support Michael Jackson and has begun handling some security for the pop star as he prepares to defend himself on child molestation charges, sources have said. The sources said the Chicago-based group’s involvement may extend into Jackson’s financial affairs.
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/ 30 December 2003
The Eastern Cape provincial health department says the R1-million allocated to awareness-raising programmes on the problems of traditional circumcision practices has been well spent. ”A lot of unnecessary incidents have been avoided,” said departmental spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.
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/ 30 December 2003
The Vatican’s ambassador to Burundi was shot dead on Monday when his car was raked with gunfire in an apparent ambush that government and rebel forces blamed on each other. Archbishop Michael Courtney, a 58-year-old Irishman and mediator in peace talks, was wounded in the head, shoulder and leg.
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/ 30 December 2003
A sudden storm with winds gusting up to 75kph killed a child, injured 78 people and displaced hundreds of families in the southern Mozambique town of Moamba, state radio reported on Monday. The storm lasted barely 10 minutes on Saturday afternoon, but razed hundreds of flimsy homes.
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/ 30 December 2003
About 28 000 corpses have been pulled out of the rubble and buried after the devastating earthquake in and around Bam, in southeastern Iran, state radio reported on Tuesday quoting local government officials. A local governorate official has estimated that the final toll will top 30 000.
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/ 30 December 2003
Saddam Hussein has started ”cooperating” with his American interrogators and has admitted hiding millions of dollars in secret international bank accounts, a senior member of Iraq’s governing council said on Monday night. The former dictator has told investigators the names of people who know where the money is.
Even Saddam has legal options
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/ 30 December 2003
A British traveller and former fireman who was killed in the Iran earthquake was given a solemn send-off in Bam on Monday by former colleagues who, in an extraordinary coincidence, were part of the international rescue team combing the devastated city.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29083">Iran quake: 28 000 bodies recovered</a>
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/ 30 December 2003
A Frenchman who had been set to become the first blind person to compete in the famous Dakar Rally on Tuesday called on French President Jacques Chirac to intervene after world motor sports governing body FIA withdrew his licence days before the race begins.
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/ 30 December 2003
Injury-plagued former Italy international Roberto Baggio says he will retire at the end of the current season. ”My career has been marred by injuries to my knee, which have affected my running and at my age this is difficult to overcome,” the 36-year-old Brescia striker told Teletutto radio station.