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/ 19 December 2007
Mahela Jayawardene was on the brink of setting a Sri Lankan Test century record in helping the hosts reach 287 for six at tea on the second day of the third and final Test against England on Wednesday. Resuming on 147-4, Sri Lanka added a further 140 runs under overcast skies before England picked up two wickets in the final over of the session.
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/ 19 December 2007
World number 19 Trevor Immelman faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after having surgery to remove a growth on his diaphragm. The growth was about the size of a golf ball. The 28-year-old South African, who won the Sun City Challenge earlier this month, is expected to be out of action for between four and eight weeks.
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/ 19 December 2007
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The African National Congress’s 52nd national conference got down on Wednesday to the nitty-gritty work of the commission that discusses the party’s policies in an atmosphere that one delegate described as the ”cessation of hostilities” over its new president Jacob Zuma.
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/ 19 December 2007
A Singapore national serviceman who sashayed into a lift one morning wearing only a pink bikini has been handed a day’s jail and a $7 529 fine by a court in the city-state. Tan Wen Zhong (21) admitted to five charges, including "outraging the modesty" of the woman who shared the lift with him.
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/ 19 December 2007
South African retail sales growth slowed to 1,5% year-on-year in October at constant prices, compared to a downwardly revised 1,7% growth in September. In the three months to the end of October, retail sales increased by 3,2% compared to the same period the previous year, also at constant prices.
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/ 19 December 2007
South Africa’s targeted CPIX inflation rate quickened to 7,9% year-on-year in November from 7,3% in October, official data showed on Wednesday. Statistics South Africa also said that the all-items consumer price index increased by an annual rate of 8,4%, compared to 7,9% in October.
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/ 19 December 2007
5FM radio station DJ Gareth Cliff did not make ”petty” remarks about God, said the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA). On Wednesday the BCCSA released the findings of some of its recent tribunals, including a judgement handed down about remarks the morning DJ had made about God.
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/ 19 December 2007
The hardest part is yet to come for Beijing Olympic organisers, heading into 2008 with all plans in place but potential pitfalls aplenty in the run-up to the event in August. Traffic congestion, closely linked to air quality, food security, media freedom and human rights as well as boycott calls are issues likely to flare up again over the coming months.
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/ 19 December 2007
Aquarius Platinum lost an attributable 250 ounces of platinum group metals per day due to a strike at its Marikana mine in South Africa, the company said on Wednesday. Marikana is a pool-and-share venture with Anglo Platinum, the world’s biggest platinum producer.
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/ 19 December 2007
The Vatican newspaper <i>L’Osservatore Romano</i> has criticised the children’s film <i>The Golden Compass</i> starring Nicole Kidman, calling it "anti-Christmas". Co-starring British actor Daniel Craig, the film is a "fantasy saga with 1960s sauce," the paper said in its Tuesday evening edition.