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/ 18 November 2006

Apec looks to break Doha deadlock

Leaders from around the Pacific rim said they were ready to break a deadlock in global trade talks at a summit on Saturday. In a statement, leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum said ”major players” in the group were ready to commit to deeper cuts in trade-distorting farm support.

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/ 18 November 2006

Shaik in bid to clear his name

Jailed businessman Schabir Shaik is desperately trying to find grounds to challenge his corruption conviction and sentence through the Constitutional Court (Concourt), reported the Weekender on Saturday. Shaik has until November 27 to file a challenge with the Concourt.

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/ 18 November 2006

Nato sends aid to flood-hit Afghanistan

Heavy flooding has killed at least 52 people in north-western Afghanistan and left scores more missing this week, and Nato airlifted emergency aid on Saturday, officials said. Governor of badly hit Badghis province Mohammad Nasim Tokhi said at least 50 people were still missing and more than 1 000 people were homeless.

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/ 18 November 2006

Sri Lanka battles rebels at sea, troops ambushed

Sri Lanka’s navy clashed with Tamil Tiger rebels off the island’s north-west coast on Saturday, each claiming to have sunk the other’s vessels, while the military said a rebel ambush on land killed three soldiers. The Navy said it sank three Tiger boats near the northern Mannar peninsula, while the rebels said they sank two navy boats and killed 10 sailors in the incident.

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/ 18 November 2006

Foreign troops arrive in riot-torn Tonga

About 150 Australian and New Zealand soldiers and police arrived in Tonga on Saturday to boost security in the South Pacific island kingdom after violent riots in which eight people died. Police said the streets of the capital, Nuku’alofa, remained fairly calm following Thursday’s riots although two more shops on the outskirts of the city had been set alight overnight.

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/ 18 November 2006

US lifts ban on silicone breast implants

The United States federal government gave the beauty industry a long-sought push-up late on Friday as it lifted a 14-year-old ban on women’s silicone breast implants. In an official announcement, the Food and Drug Administration said it had granted permission to two California companies to resume marketing their silicone-gel breast implants to women aged 22 and older.

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/ 18 November 2006

Australian umpires protest Hair sacking

One of Australia’s largest umpiring associations has publicly criticised the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to sack Darrell Hair from the elite panel of umpires. The New South Wales Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association of which Hair is a life member, ran a full page advertisement in a Sydney newspaper on Saturday, describing the ICC’s decision as a travesty of justice.