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Iraq: Bush asks for patience on four-year war anniversary
President George W. Bush pleaded for patience today on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war and defended his Iraq policy in the face of new polls showing Americans increasingly oppose the war and Iraqis.
"Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult but it can be won," Bush said after a teleconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "It will be won if we have the courage and resolve to see it through."
The Iraq war has killed more than 3,200 US military personnel and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
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Russia: Mine blast kills 78 miners
A methane explosion killed 78 people in a Siberian coal mine today in the deadliest accident in Russia's mining industry in at least a decade.
Two hundred people had been in the pit when the blast happened and 75 of them had been safely evacuated, leaving 47 trapped underground.
More than 40 miners were still underground about 10 hours after the blast and the death toll could rise further. Thick smoke and the continued presence of gas in the mine make the rescue operation difficult.
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Zimbabwe: Western diplomats threatened to be kicked out
Zimbabwe summoned all Western diplomats based in Harare and threatened them with expulsion as President Robert Mugabe plans to import at least 3000 police militia from Angola to bolster his police force.
"We have been basically told to stop meddling in Zimbabwe's internal affairs or get kicked out," said one diplomat who asked not to be identified.
While the brutal assaults on opposition leaders are dominating world headlines, a civic group highlighted in a statement that the heavy assaults on ordinary civilians in the townships are going unreported.
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- NZ HERALD STAFF, INDEPENDENT, REUTERS
