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/ 12 February 2008
A group of Nobel Peace laureates sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday urging the Beijing Games host to uphold Olympic ideals by pressing its ally, Sudan, to stop atrocities in Darfur. In more than four years of conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, 200 000 people have died and 2,5-million have been driven from their homes.
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/ 12 February 2008
President Thabo Mbeki failed to take action despite being told South Africa’s police commissioner faced prosecution over his alleged links to organised crime, the Star newspaper reported on Tuesday. The paper quoted an affidavit filed on Monday by Mokotedi Mpshe, the acting head of the National Prosecuting Authority.
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/ 12 February 2008
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said he is ”raring to go” in general elections next month despite the first challenge for 20 years from within his ruling party. Mugabe is seeking another five-year term in the March 29 presidential, parliamentary and council elections.
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/ 12 February 2008
Aborigines playing didgeridoos and smeared with white body paint overturned hundreds of years of British tradition in Australia on Tuesday by taking part in the official opening of the nation’s new parliamentary session. The ceremony came a day before Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivers an historic apology to Aborigines for past policies.
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/ 12 February 2008
Sri Lanka hammered India by eight wickets on Tuesday to revive their hopes in the rain-hit tri-series. Set a revised 154 to win from 21 overs, Sri Lanka reached the rain-adjusted target with two overs to spare for their first win of the series. Rain has played havoc with the series, with the first two matches washed out.
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/ 12 February 2008
Tiger Brands has appointed Peter Matlare as its new CEO from April 1, the company announced on Tuesday. ”We believe he will bring a diverse set of skills and leadership abilities to Tiger Brands,” Tiger Brands’s non-executive chairperson Lex van Vught said in a statement.
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/ 12 February 2008
De Beers, the world’s top diamond producer, said on Monday that 2008 looks to be a ”challenging” year for the industry due to a slowdown in the global economy that could dampen demand for diamonds. But Gareth Penny, De Beers’s managing director, said rough diamond prices are still rising due to lack of new supply.
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/ 12 February 2008
Chief economist at First National Bank Cees Bruggemans said on Tuesday that the apparent large-scale escalation in emigration intentions among talented professionals and managers is a major threat to the economy, especially when combined with the impact of the electricity crisis.
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/ 12 February 2008
The Blue Bulls have refused to allow South Africa lock Bakkies Botha to join French second division Toulon. Ian Schwartz, media spokesperson for the Blue Bulls, said on Monday that Botha would not be released from his contract. ”We had no option but to decline his request,” Schwartz was quoted as saying.
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/ 12 February 2008
South Africa number eight Pierre Spies is expected to return to full training at the end of February after spending seven months on the sidelines. A statement issued by the Blue Bulls on Monday said the province’s doctor was satisfied with Spies’s recovery and as long as everything went to plan he would start to take part in contact sessions at the end of the month.