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/ 6 September 2004

Toilet ice hits Austrian garden

It was an inelegant intruder on a sunny afternoon: a chunk of ice from a jetliner toilet that broke free and slammed into an Austrian family’s garden. No one was injured when the ice tumbled from the sky on Sunday afternoon in Graz, about 200km south of Vienna, authorities said.

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/ 6 September 2004

Confusion reigns over Saddam deputy

Confusion reigned on Monday over the fate of Saddam Hussein’s long-time right-hand man, following conflicting claims by Iraqi government and security officials over the capture of Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri. Meanwhile, a Turkish truck driver was reportedly released after his employer promised to stop its business in Iraq.

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/ 6 September 2004

End of the rainbow

General Colin Powell is missing in action. At the Republican convention in 2000 he led from the front, opening a line up that could have been set up by Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow coalition. Of the three co-chairs in 2000 one was black and another Hispanic; national security adviser Condoleezza Rice kicked off prime-time coverage one night while Chaka Khan serenaded George Bush.

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/ 6 September 2004

Sasol blast death toll rises to seven

The death toll in an explosion at Sasol’s ethylene plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga, has climbed to seven, company spokesperson Johann van Rheede said on Monday. The explosion, which occurred last Wednesday, claimed the lives of four contractors and two Sasol employees. More than 100 people were injured.

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/ 6 September 2004

Dual-listeds drive JSE higher

The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was in positive territory at midday on Monday, lifted by heavyweight dual-listed stocks. The market was otherwise quiet, as could be expected considering the Labour Day holiday in the United States. At noon, the all-share and all-share industrial indices were 0,56% and 0,54% stronger respectively.

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/ 6 September 2004

Son who wed dad’s wife takes his own life

A man whose father divorced so he could marry his stepmother took his own life after villagers and neighbours teased him mercilessly, police said on Monday. Seng Yon (22) fell in love with his father’s second wife and far from being angry, Veang Van (42) divorced his wife so his son could marry her, police said.

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/ 6 September 2004

China’s false start

It felt as though China had broken its Olympic promises on day one. In securing the bid for Beijing to host the 2008 Games, the city’s representatives pledged that the world media would enjoy full freedom to report all aspects of China. Yet less than 24 hours after the Olympic flag was handed to Beijing’s mayor last Sunday, there I was detained and harassed for covering a demonstration that challenged the government’s position on Tibet.

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/ 6 September 2004

IMF head visits SA

International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato began his first visit to South Africa on Monday since taking the helm of the international lending institution three months ago. Rato, a former Spanish finance minister, is to hold talks with President Thabo Mbeki, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni during his two-day visit.