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/ 5 September 2007

Sierra Leone calms media ahead of high-stakes poll

Sierra Leone media authorities are trying to tone down party political broadcasts alleging executions and machete attacks to try to defuse tensions ahead of a presidential run-off vote on Saturday. The poll, the culmination of the first elections since United Nations peacekeepers left, pits opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma against Vice-President Solomon Berewa.

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/ 5 September 2007

Lekota defends Umshini Wami remarks

African National Congress national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota has defended his negative remarks about people singing freedom songs such as Umshini Wami, saying the issue was not about ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, but about policy. ”These liberation and freedom songs are not pop songs … which we sing for personal entertainment here and there,” he said.

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/ 5 September 2007

Blanchett’s take on Dylan has critics raving

With hair teased into the familiar bird’s nest of frizz, Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of Bob Dylan is already being tipped for Oscar success. Yet as Todd Haynes’s surreal biopic I’m Not There was premiered at the Venice film festival on Tuesday, the director revealed that the Australian actor’s decision to take on the role had been far from instant.

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/ 5 September 2007

Boks take the pressure off Proteas

South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock believes the start of the Rugby World Cup in France on Friday has taken some of the pressure off the cricket team ahead of the ICC Twenty20 tournament. ”We’re a sports mad country, but I think a lot of the expectations are focussed on the Springboks,” Pollock said at a press conference on Wednesday.

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/ 5 September 2007

Mandela, Chirac discuss charity work

Former French president Jacques Chirac on Wednesday discussed his plans to set up a foundation with Nelson Mandela, who is on a private visit to France to raise funds for his charity institutes. Chirac is, in the coming months, to launch a foundation devoted to the environment and promoting understanding among cultures.