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/ 16 September 2004

Top boxer vacates title for new challenge

South African lightweight boxing king Isaac ”Angel” Hlatshwayo has vacated his national title to challenge Lovemore Ndou for the WBA Pan Pacific junior welterweight title in Australia on October 16. Hlatshwayo, the proud owner of the coveted Old Buck Belt, was supposed to defend against Nigel Classen on September 28.

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/ 16 September 2004

‘We must avoid being monkeys’

Pan African Parliament President Gertrude Mongella speaks with a mischievous, Swahili-accented voice reminiscent of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, in whose government she served as a young woman. Her feminist heart ever-present on her sleeve, the diminutive convent-educated mother of four clearly enjoys raising eyebrows.

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/ 16 September 2004

Beware the monster that lurks on the greens

Undulating greens that rival famed Augusta National Golf Club will provide a test of nerves for European and United States golfers trying to tame a ”Monster” here at the Ryder Cup. Oakland Hills Country Club, a 11 323-metre Donald Ross-designed course opened in 1918, has hosted six US Opens, including the 1951 event where winner Ben Hogan said, ”I’m glad I brought this course, this monster, to its knees.”

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/ 16 September 2004

Brian Lara has a soft spot for Bangladesh

West Indies captain Brian Lara believes Bangladesh are making improvements as a cricketing nation, despite another heavy defeat at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday in the ICC Champions Trophy. Bangladesh lost to the West Indies by 138 runs just days after another mauling by South Africa in the group stages of the competition.

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/ 16 September 2004

Ebrahim of 100 days

There’s nothing like patting yourself on the back (something Lemmer has given up doing as it puts his spine out of place) when no one else is willing to hand you the kudos. The African National Congress Premier of the Western Cape placed prominent advertisements in newspapers to mark the first 100 days of his government elected in April.

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/ 16 September 2004

SA Paralympic champions arrive in Athens

Fanie Lombaard, the ”top gun” of South Africa’s team at the Athens Paralympics, arrived on Thursday for his fourth campaign at the Games since his country’s readmission to world sport at Barcelona 1992. Also there is 17-year-old amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who is in grade 11 at Pretoria Boys’ High.

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/ 16 September 2004

A glimmer of hope for Kenya’s Ogiek

It’s probably fair to say that the plight of the Ogiek receives little attention on a continent with more than its share of political and economic crises. The Ogiek are ”one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer peoples of East Africa”, according to Survival International — an organisation that fights for the rights of indigenous communities.

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/ 16 September 2004

No further action against Schalk Burger

A South African Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing has decided that no further action should be taken against Investec Western Province forward Schalk Burger, who was red-carded during the Absa Currie Cup clash against the Lions last weekend. Two other hearings found two players guilty of doping offences.

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/ 16 September 2004

High hopes for Rossi in Japan

World champion Valentino Rossi, back in Japan for the first time since he switched teams to Yamaha, is looking to move closer to his fourth straight world title at this Sunday’s Pacific Grand Prix in Motegi and give the Japanese constructors their first championship in 12 years.