Police said 21 bodies were found in eastern Baghdad, and the other 26 in the west of the city. A BBC correspondent in Baghdad said many are likely to have been killed by sectarian death squads, but some may have been victims of criminal gangs.

Penn brother died 'from weight'
HOLLYWOOD star Sean Penn has insisted that his actor brother Chris did not die due to drugs, but from natural causes.

Penn said the death of his brother in January was because of his weight and not down to drink and drug abuse. "He had certainly been a fantastically self-abusing guy over periods of his life, but that wasn't the case in the end, " he told CNN's Larry King.

He said his sibling died "a natural death that was brought on by some hard living, but particularly weight".

The official cause of the actor's death was an enlarged heart. At the time of his death, Penn's heart weighed 700g, a few hundred grams heavier than the average heart.

Traces of valium, morphine, marijuana and codeine were found in his system.

Vitamin D reduces risk of cancer
TAKING vitamin D tablets could substantially reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, research suggests. US scientists found taking the tablets cut the risk of a disease, which has a poor prognosis in almost half of cases.

Vitamin D was examined as it previously showed promise in cutting the risk of prostate, breast and colon cancer.