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/ 7 September 2007
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Finally, after all the waiting, we are here. This is the week when France suddenly becomes the centre of the world for rugby fans. So it’s time to dust off the old Castaignède crystal ball and make some predictions about what is going to happen in the coming weeks. It’s not an oval crystal ball so I’m not sure it’s totally reliable, but this is how it sees the tournament working out.
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/ 7 September 2007
"We sat in the heat with thousands of guests, eating rice and meat — many bulls had been slaughtered for this feast. Speeches were made and we waited, Fantas in hand, for the beer to be unloaded. We knew that on such occasions Kenya Breweries could be counted on to bring in truckloads of beer." Binyavanga Wainaina recalls a memorable wedding in Kenya.
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/ 7 September 2007
United States President George Bush said on Friday the United States would be willing to consider a peace treaty with North Korea if it gave up its nuclear weapons programme. ”We’re looking forward to the day when we can end the Korean War.” Bush told reporters after meeting South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
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/ 7 September 2007
Bodies of Miskito Indians killed by Hurricane Felix floated in the Caribbean off Central America and washed up on beaches on Thursday as the death toll from the storm rose to over 60. Many of the dead were travelling by boat when they were hit by huge waves as Felix struck near the border between Honduras and Nicaragua on Tuesday
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/ 7 September 2007
South Africa’s net gold and foreign exchange reserves increased slightly to ,449-billion in August, data showed on Friday, as the softer rand currency slowed the pace of reserves build-up. The figure rose from ,965-billion at the end of July.
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/ 7 September 2007
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Rugby World Cup organisers turned down requests on Thursday from the French government and the European Union to return to negotiations and diffuse a media row which threatens coverage of the tournament opening on Friday. The International Rugby Board (IRB) and its subsidiary RWC declined all requests to resume negotiations.
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/ 7 September 2007
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No issue must be ”taboo” for debate in South Africa if its people want to succeed with reconciliation and nation-building, African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma said on Thursday. ”Debate in the country must be promoted,” Zuma said in delivering the annual public management commemorative lecture.
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/ 7 September 2007
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Australia beat England at the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, but in the South Stand at Twickenham lurked a couple of fellows who held up a banner emblazoned with this motto: ”South Africa, the real World Champions”. As it turned out, the blazers of the International Rugby Board had met during the second World Cup to debate the re-entry of the Springboks into the international fold.
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/ 7 September 2007
An Islamist website said on Friday it would soon show a new video of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to mark the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on United States cities. The website published a still photograph apparently from the video, which showed bin Laden appearing older compared with available pictures.
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/ 7 September 2007
It’s official: Your toddler is smarter than a chimp, at least at some things. A unique study comparing the abilities of human toddlers to chimpanzees and orangutans found that two-year-old children have social learning skills superior to the apes, researchers said on Thursday.