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/ 1 November 2006
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday that another inquiry could be held into his government’s handling of the Iraq war — but insisted now is not the time for such a probe. Seeking to clarify confusion after surviving a parliamentary vote on the divisive issue on Tuesday, Blair said an inquiry now would send the wrong signals to both the fledgling Iraqi government and insurgents.
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/ 1 November 2006
Central African Republic President Francois Bozize on Wednesday accused Sudan of sending armed rebels across the border to occupy a north-eastern town in his country. ”In the last 48 hours, the Central African Republic has been attacked by the same country which has harmed Chad. Let’s be clear: It is [Sudanese President Omar Hassan] al-Bashir,” Bozize told reporters.
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/ 1 November 2006
Accused of supporting corrupt African regimes to facilitate its imports of oil and raw materials from the resource-rich continent, China is staging a grand diplomatic forum to defend its dealings with Africa. Leaders and officials from 48 African countries will attend the two-day Beijing summit this week.
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/ 1 November 2006
The glow from burning jatropha seed torches has often saved Maruti Chindu from treading on snakes, but now he carefully nurtures them for a use that he never imagined before — running cars and trucks. On the hilly grasslands of the western state of Maharashtra, near the village of Malegaon, Chindu and his tribe of about 40 men and women busily plant jatropha saplings.
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/ 1 November 2006
More than a decade after world leaders pledged to avert ”dangerous” climate change, a report card on their efforts so far might read: ”Must try harder”. Rising industrial emissions of greenhouse gases, acrimony between Washington and many of its allies over policy and a report this week that the world economy risks a 1930s-style Depression by failing to act are among reasons for gloom.
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/ 1 November 2006
Aid workers in risky environments may fear violence but they are more likely to die — and hurt the people they are trying to help — in a car crash, logistics experts say. These specialists are joining a growing initiative to make humanitarian groups more responsible with their gas-guzzling four-wheel-drive cars..
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/ 1 November 2006
Australia is already feeling the heat from climate change with a five-year drought devastating rural life, severe early season wildfires and record unseasonal temperatures. Every four days, a farmer commits suicide under the stress of failing crops, dying livestock and debt as the worst drought in 100 years bites deep into the nation’s psyche and erodes economic growth.
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/ 1 November 2006
Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota reacted with outrage on Wednesday to reports that the defence force had lost millions of rands worth of equipment and vehicles during peacekeeping operations in Burundi. ”The disturbing thing about this report is that it is so grossly inaccurate as to suggest bad faith,” he told journalists in Pretoria.
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/ 1 November 2006
South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said on Wednesday adaptability would be the key to success against an unpredictable West Indies in the Champions Trophy semifinal. ”The unpredictable nature can count against them, but it can also be a major bonus for them. The key for us is to adapt to the conditions better than the other team,” Smith said ahead of Thursday’s match.
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/ 1 November 2006
A Maine attorney who released information in 2000 about President George Bush’s drunken driving conviction was arrested on Tuesday after he dressed up as al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and waved a fake gun at traffic. Police in South Portland, Maine, arrested Thomas Connolly (49) of Scarborough, Maine, and charged him with criminal threatening.