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/ 19 May 2006

Mugabe donates computers ahead of by-election

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has donated 100 computers to 10 schools in Harare ahead of a parliamentary by-election in a key suburb, reports said on Friday. Voters in the low-income suburb of Budiriro are due to go to the polls on Saturday to fill a parliamentary seat left vacant by the death of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change MP Gilbert Shoko.

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/ 19 May 2006

Ronaldinho, the finished article

Somewhere in Brazil there is a man called Renato who had the chance to own 25% of Ronaldinho. A former player with Gremio in the southern city of Porto Alegre, Renato lent a sum of money — about £75 000 — to his old club, which had fallen on hard times. And when they proved unable to repay him in cash, they offered him a quarter-share in one of the promising local boys.

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/ 19 May 2006

Tough times in Italian soccer

Italian football is in meltdown with the World Cup less than a month away. Four Serie A clubs stand accused of match-fixing, a referee and his assistants have been pulled off the World Cup list while being investigated for corruption, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon may also miss the tournament as a result of a betting scandal, and the national organising body is in administration.

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/ 19 May 2006

Thank heavens for Makhaya Muralitharan

Makhaya Ntini bowls extremely quickly. Stand behind the batsman at any practice session, and one realises anew that the fan or even the competent amateur player hasn’t the faintest idea of just how quick a real fast bowler is. Even five yards back, protected by Jacques Kallis’s bat, there is a moment of terrified glee.

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/ 19 May 2006

Gunners silenced

London doesn’t take kindly to defeat. And Londoners certainly don’t take kindly to referees who repeatedly sin against their clubs. Arsenal’s brave but ultimately fruitless 2-1 failure against Barcelona in Paris in the Champions League final on Wednesday night will be picked apart for weeks to come.

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/ 19 May 2006

Foreign Affairs deputy meets Iranian counterpart

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sue Van der Merwe has concluded discussions about economic co-operation with her Iranian counterpart. Sheikhattar Alireza, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Cooperation, is in South Africa for a working group meeting, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said in a statement on Friday.

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/ 19 May 2006

Thierry to stay at Arsenal

Thierry Henry has decided to stay at Arsenal and is expected to sign a new four-year contract with the north London football club on Friday, Britain’s Sun newspaper said. ”I hope to stay as long as I can keep running,” the tabloid quoted the club’s 28-year-old captain as saying.