January, 2007

• 7 January

  Hamas pledges to boost force in Gaza, Abbas says unit illegal

  GAZA CITY (AP) — Hamas said Saturday it would double the size of its paramilitary force in Gaza, defying President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to outlaw the unit and raising the stakes in an increasingly bloody power struggle between the two rivals.

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• 7 January

  Maliki announces crackdown

  BAGHDAD (AP) — In the opening battle of a major new drive to tame the violent capital, the Iraqi army reported it killed 30 gunmen Saturday night in a firefight in a Sunni insurgent stronghold in the centre of the city, just to the north of the heavily fortified Green …

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• 7 January

  Bush’s new plan facing uphill battle on Capitol Hill

  WASHINGTON (AP) — President George W. Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq is already running into trouble on Capitol Hill, with Republicans joining Democrats in raising eyebrows before the president even makes his case.

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• 7 January

  Anti-Ethiopian protests rock Somali capital

  MOGADISHU (Reuters) — Ethiopian troops and Somali protesters exchanged fire in Mogadishu on Saturday killing three people, witnesses said, as hundreds of Somalis demonstrated against the foreign forces and a government disarmament drive.

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• 7 January

  Saudi Arabia urges US to change course in Iraq

  DUBAI (Reuters) — Saudi Arabia has urged the United States to change course in Iraq and warned against the break-up of the country along ethnic or religious lines amid growing sectarian violence, a newspaper said on Saturday.

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• 7 January

  UN envoy heads to Sudan for AU talks on Darfur

  UNITED NATIONS (AFP) —The UN interim special representative for Sudan, Jan Eliasson, said he will leave for African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa later Friday to find a solution to the bloodshed in Darfur.

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• 7 January

  Israel’s ‘tragic hero’ PM faces criticism, plunging polls

  OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Beleaguered Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced increased criticism and plummeting polls Friday after returning empty-handed from a summit with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

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• 7 January

  Experts debate plan to develop jobs programme for Iraqis

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Just as debate rages over sending more US troops to Iraq, there are differing views about whether economic incentives such as micro-loans and US-funded jobs programmes would coax fighters to trade guns for tools.

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• 7 January

  Iraqi PM slams critics of Saddam hanging

  BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Saturday threatened to “review” relations with countries which criticised the bungled execution of Saddam Hussein, saying the hanging was an internal matter.

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• 7 January

  Iran reformists slam government’s nuclear policy

  TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iranian reformist parliamentarians on Saturday blamed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government for failing to prevent United Nations sanctions.

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