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/ 20 June 2007

‘Dubailand’ aims to be Middle East Orlando

Widely touted as the Middle East’s very own Orlando, "Dubailand", a cluster of mega-billion-dollar projects, is gradually emerging across the desert sands of the booming Gulf emirate. Faced with a dwindling wealth of oil, Dubai has taken on a new challenge of larger-than-life projects in line with its ambition to become the region’s main business and leisure hub.

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/ 20 June 2007

When Beirut and boom do not mean tourism

Breakfast at an upmarket hotel in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, begins at 6.30am. Nearly three quarters of an hour later, the tables are still set and pristine, the buffet untouched. "There is no one," the restaurant manager said, shaking his head. Beirut should be buzzing, if only with expatriates returning to holiday in their homeland.

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/ 20 June 2007

Sailor to sign for Dragons after drug ban

Disgraced former Wallaby Wendell Sailor will sign for Australian rugby league side St George Illawarra when his ban for drug use expires, it was reported Wednesday. The 32-year-old tested positive for cocaine after playing for the NSW Waratahs in a Super 14 match against the ACT Brumbies in April last year.

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/ 20 June 2007

Eritrea remembers tens of thousands of war dead

Thousands of Eritreans marched through the streets on Wednesday to a cemetery atop a hill overlooking the capital to honour tens of thousands of people killed in two wars against their former Ethiopian masters. Some holding orange flowers, Eritreans bowed their heads in silence to celebrate an estimated 90 000 people killed in a 30-year independence struggle.

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/ 20 June 2007

Strike hits Nigeria, but oil keeps flowing

A strike in Africa’s top oil producer began on Wednesday after unions rejected government concessions on fuel prices as too little too late. The offices of Western oil companies operating in Nigeria were closed along with most other businesses, but oil production and exports were uninterrupted, company officials said.