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DAR ES SALAAM: US President George W. Bush, opening a
five-country Africa tour, stepped up pressure on Kenyan leaders
Saturday to accept a power-sharing deal to end their country’s
deadly political crisis. During a three-hour stop in the tiny West
African country of Benin, Bush threw his weight behind former UN
chief Kofi Annan’s efforts to broker the agreement in a bid to end
clashes that have killed about 1,000 people. US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, expected in Kenya on Monday, will deliver a
“clear message” that Washington backs Annan’s plan for ending
the crisis that began with a disputed December 27 presidential
election, Bush said.
-- AFP
KUNMING: Consecutive snow and freezing weather
have blocked about 14,000km of highways in the southwestern province
of Yunnan and more than 12,000 passengers will be affected on Sunday
alone, according to a spokesman of the provincial transport
department. Since late January, snowstorms hit Yunnan, and in the
northern part of the province, roads were seriously damaged. From
January 19 to Saturday, the interrupted roads have amounted to
14,000km, of which expressways are 265km and trunk roads more than
5,000km. The disaster left about 178,000 people and 20,000 motor
vehicles stranded, and caused an economic loss of 154 million yuan
(about US$20.5 million).
-- Xinhua
WASHINGTON: A strong earthquake jolted the
Potosi, Bolivia area, the US National Earthquake Information Center
reported Saturday. The quake, also about 169 kilometers northeast of
Calama, Chile, hit around 14:45 GMT, the NEIC said. The temblor
stuck some 299 kilometers (186 miles) southwest (232 degrees) of
Potosi, Bolivia, it said.
-- AFP
SEOUL: South Korea’s two leading liberal
parties on Sunday officially merged in a bid to prevent a landslide
victory by the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) in April’s
legislative election. The United New Democratic Party (UNDP) and the
smaller Democratic Party had agreed on the merger earlier this
month. The new party registered with the election watchdog will
tentatively be called the United Democratic Party. The UNDP
currently has 135 members of parliament and the DP six to the
GNP’s 130, but liberal politicians fear a major swing to the
conservatives in the April 9 election.
-- AFP
KABUL: At least 25 people were killed in an
explosion in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, capital of
troubled Kandahar province, on Sunday morning, according to a Xinhua
reporter on the spot. The blast occurred at a dog fighting
competition where several hundred watchers were gathering. Local
eyewitnesses believed that it was a suicide attack and the
casualties’ number could be higher.
-- Xinhua
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