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/ 1 November 2006
Militias loyal to Somalia’s powerful Islamic movement expanded their control by taking over a strategic coastal town as peace talks with the country’s official government stalled. The fighters peacefully seized Hobyo in the central Mudug region on Tuesday night, according to an official with Somalia’s Council of Islamic Courts.
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/ 1 November 2006
Zimbabwe’s ruling party has won the majority of seats in local elections held in the countryside on the weekend, confirming its continuing popularity in its traditional stronghold despite biting economic problems, it was reported on Wednesday. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced late on Tuesday that the ruling Zanu-PF party won 765 seats out of 849.
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/ 1 November 2006
Amnesty International bestowed its most prestigious honour — the Ambassador of Conscience Award 2006 — on former president Nelson Mandela.
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/ 1 November 2006
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the city of Cape Town has noted and welcomed the agreement reached between Western Cape local government and housing minister Richard Dyantyi and Cape Town mayor Helen Zille, saying it should reduce tension and instability in the city.
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/ 1 November 2006
There could be a few strangers at the party when the China-Africa Summit opens on Friday — a rebel group of five countries with formal ties to Beijing’s diplomatic rival, Taiwan. China has invited representatives of the five — Gambia, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Swaziland and São Tomé and PrÃncipe — to attend the summit as observers, although it is still not sure if they are coming.
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/ 1 November 2006
It has created a wealthy black elite but has been decried for leaving millions of people behind; advocates say it has helped redress the economic wrongs of apartheid but critics argue it is deeply flawed. South Africa’s black economic empowerment (BEE) policy was supposed to bring the black majority into the mainstream economy but as opponents grow more vocal, there are signs the government may be ready for a rethink.
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/ 1 November 2006
Online daters, disappointed by potential partners lying about their age, weight or marital status, are turning to professional matchmakers to find love. Rather than risk taking pot luck online, chief executives, entertainers and politicians are among those paying thousands of dollars to matchmakers to discreetly ”headhunt” and vet the perfect partner.
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/ 1 November 2006
More used to the sound of gunfire, the residents of Darfur’s main town el-Fasher tapped their feet to a rare beat as musicians from all over Sudan performed in a festival for reconciliation. For 10 days, puppet shows for children, street theatre and concerts provided welcome distraction for Darfuris who have been terrorised by rebels, the government and militias.
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/ 1 November 2006
I will never complain about a bad cellphone signal again. It saved my life this week. A suicide bomber had just walked past me and blew himself up in an Iraqi police station moments after I ducked round a corner to try for a better connection to the Reuters bureau in Baghdad.
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/ 1 November 2006
A Dutch woman, who had meticulously planned her own funeral after the death of her husband last year, died next to the grave in Amsterdam where she wanted to be buried, a newspaper reported. The 65-year-old widow probably died of a heart attack while she was visiting the family grave where her name, but no date, was already inscribed.