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/ 25 February 2008
The United States and the European Union were the midwives attending the birth of Europe’s newest country this week. Brussels now takes on the role of foster parent, attempting to raise its infant ward to adult statehood. It is a tall order, the EU’s toughest ever. Sunday’s independence declaration launches it on its most ambitious exercise in state-building.
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/ 25 February 2008
Schabir Shaik, the convicted former financial adviser to ANC president Jacob Zuma, will tell the Constitutional Court that there is no direct connection between his corrupt relationship with Zuma and tens of millions of rands’ worth of his assets. Next week Shaik and his companies will attempt to convince the court to reverse an earlier judgement by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
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/ 25 February 2008
Sudan’s Abyei region is a possible trouble spot from which conflict could resume, three years after a comprehensive agreement was signed to end civil war between the north and south, the United Nations special envoy to Sudan has warned. The oil-rich region, which lies between north and south Sudan, has experienced an administrative and political vacuum after disagreements over its status.
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/ 24 February 2008
I am a proponent of same-sex marriages and as a Christian minister of religion, I want to make it very clear that the Bible nowhere gives an indication that such marriages should be condemned. Most of the opposition to same-sex marriages could be ascribed to a lack of knowledge of what both marriage and homosexuality mean, writes André Müller.
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/ 24 February 2008
The presidential forays of Ralph Nader have turned him into one of the most divisive figures in US politics. Already on Sunday reaction was swift among Democrats to the news that Nader had thrown his hat into the ring to stand in the November election in his fifth tilt at the White House.
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/ 24 February 2008
A suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with metal ball bearings in a refreshment tent full of Iraqi pilgrims heading to a Shi’ite festival on Sunday, killing 40 people and wounding 60, police said. The United States military said it was trying to confirm reports that 60 people had been killed and 100 wounded.
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/ 24 February 2008
Jacques Kallis picked up a five-wicket haul to put South Africa on the brink of victory on the third day of the opening Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday. He took all his wickets in a single spell of fascinating fast-bowling to help South Africa bowl out the hosts for 182 and restrict their second-innings lead to 204.
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/ 24 February 2008
Bloemfontein Celtic beat Amazulu 3-2 in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) match at a packed Seisa Ramabodu Stadium in Bloemfontein on Sunday. In other matches, Mamelodi Sundowns handed victory to Wits University, Orlando Pirates were beaten by Santos, and Ajax beat Cosmos.
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/ 24 February 2008
Guarded by motion-detector cameras, security fences and the odd polar bear, a huge cavern has been built in an island off northern Norway to help secure global crop diversity. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a veritable Fort Knox for seeds and aimed at safeguarding genetic heritage for future generations.
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/ 24 February 2008
A year after his Academy Awards dream went up in smoke, Eddie Murphy has not just one consolation prize, but three: Razzie Awards as worst actor, supporting actor and supporting actress for the comedy Norbit. The fourth acting ”dis-honour” went to Lindsay Lohan.