Wedding Bells

CNN reported that U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg has been banned from entering Australia after failing a character test.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was told his visa would be cancelled after he pleaded no contest to gun and drug charges in the United States earlier this month.

The Daily Telegraph reported that immigration officials have already had extensive discussions with MTV in the lead up to rejects Snoop Dogg's visa. Snoop must provide an application to overturn that decision.

Snoop Dogg was supposed to attend MTV"S Australia's Music Video Awards on Sunday.

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CNN reported that 24 Taliban fighters were killed during a seven-hour battle with Afghan and coalition forces at nightfall Wednesday in southern Afghanistan.

The battle began when four Taliban members fired rounds at troops patrolling the northeast corner of Helmand province's Sangin district, CNN reported.

No civilian casualties occurred, the coalition said.

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CNN.com reported that a series of bomb threats and other security alerts alerted U.S. schools and universities Wednesday. Nerves still remain after the 32-person massacre at Virginia Tech.

With the Virginia Tech campus still on edge, students there got another scare Wednesday when police swarmed into a building housing the university president's office,CNN reported. The suspicious activity was a false alarm.

Star Tribune reported that the University of Minnesota had a bomb threat Wednesday and evacuated eight buildings.

The University of California Hastings College of the Law evacuated 300 to 400 students midway through classes Wednesday afternoon after someone noticed a posting on an Internet site referring to the school and Virginia Tech, CNN reported.

Colorado, California, and New Jersey also experienced a sort of hoax threat after the Virginia Tech incident this week.

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CNN reported that a U.S. Army commander said authorities still can't verify who bombed the Iraqi parliament complex on Thursday, but al Qaeda in Iraq probably was involved.

Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of the Multinational Corps-Iraq, told reporters at the Pentagon via teleconference from Iraq that his hunch, "based on past events," is that al Qaeda in Iraq is "probably somewhat involved."

Star Tribune reported that Iraqi officials, said the bomber was believed to have been a bodyguard for a Sunni lawmaker who was not among the casualties.

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Twenty people were killed and 30 others were wounded when a suicide truck bomber slammed into an Iraqi police checkpoint in a western Ramadi neighborhood, reported CNN.
Two police officers were among the dead, and two were wounded.

The Pioneer Press reported that a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq suicide bomber smashed a truck loaded with TNT and toxic chlorine gas. This is the ninth such attack since the group's first known use of a chemical weapon in January.

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CNN reported at least 60 people were killed after a boat capsized off the coast of Guinea, state television in the West African country said Thursday.

It said a "pirogue", or open fishing boat, with 120 people on board had capsized. "36 people survived," the television station said, broadcasting images of survivors being brought ashore.

A police official, said the accident happened late on Wednesday off the capital Conakry and that the boat had been traveling from Forecariah, about 30 miles south.

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CNN.com repored that rescue teams continued their search Tuesday for six miners, a day after an explosion ripped through a coal mine in southwestern Siberia. The explosion killed at least 100 people, officials said.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that 203 workers were in the Ulyanovskaya mine in Kemerovo area when the methane explosion occurred. The depth was about 270 meters, reported CNN.
President Vladimir Putin sent regional governor Aman Tuleyev a telegram conveying his sympathy for the relatives of victims and support for survivors, according to The Associated Press.
Star Tribune reported that rescuers searched Tuesday for 13 miners missing, and reported only 97 fatalities.

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MSNBC reported that a rocket-propelled grenade attack on African Union peacekeepers and a gunbattle killed at least 10 civilians and wounded two peacekeepers in the Somali capital, Thursday. Mustaf Farah, who witnessed the attack, said he heard an explosion as three armored vehicles carrying peacekeepers passed, followed by gunfire, repoted CNN.
“The police are investigating the incident and the culprits will be treated with iron hands, soon,� reported The Associated Press.

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An al-Qaeda-linked Sunni group said that it kidnapped 18 government workers and soldiers due to the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by members of the Shiite police force, reported USA today. Photos showed 18 blindfolded men. Seven were wearing Iraqi military uniforms with their hands tied behind their backs. Hours later the government said the bodies of 14 security officers had been found, reported CNN.

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According to CNN, two Iraqi insurgent groups have vowed to step up attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces to avenge the alleged rapes of women by members of the security force.

The first rape allegation was announced earlier this week. A 20-year-old Sunni woman claimed she was raped by three Iraqi policemen, CNN reported.

According to msnbc.com, a second rape allegation emerged Thursday .when a 50-year-old Sunni woman in Tal Afar, claimed she was raped by four Iraqi soldiers, who also tried to rape her daughters.

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Al Queda leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri was wounded in a firefight today, reported FOXNews.com. Masri was wounded and his aide Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai was killed. It occurred near Balad, a major US base, FOXNews reported.

Reports declined to say how al-Masri had been injured, reported CNN.com. A spokesperson said Iraqi police have the body of the aide but would not comment if al-Masri was captured. The US miliary, has so far made no comment on the report, CNN.com reported.

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100 people died an nearly 30 people were wounded this week in protest in Congo. Protesting electoral fraud through several towns. Those dead include security forces but majority were demonstrators, CNN reported.

Authorities order soldiers from nearby Kitona and surrounding areas to restore order and soldiers had automatic weapons and rockets. Government officials could not be reached to comment on the violence, MSNBC reported.

The protests started after the recent elections last weekend. It began as a peaceful protest and ended in a bloody riot.

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