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/ 28 February 2006

US opposition to UAE port firm takeover seen as racist

The fierce opposition in the United States to a management takeover of six US ports by a Dubai-based company is seen by Gulf analysts as unjustified and even racist. "There is a racist dimension in this matter, and that is because the firm linked to the deal is Arab, which, in the opinion of some people, should not manage US ports," said Emirati political analyst Abdul Khaleq Abdullah.

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/ 28 February 2006

‘She gets the air in any way she can’

A 20-year-old woman has made it big with the Philadelphia Orchestra — she’s been hired to be its tuba player, a job normally held by men in major orchestras. ”The fact that she is a young woman playing a very un-womanlike instrument is really extraordinary,” said Christoph Eschenbach, the orchestra’s music director.

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/ 28 February 2006

Top Bafana goalkeeper may head for Sundowns

It’s a rumour that has spread through Premier Soccer League soccer circles like wildfire. But the first official indication that top Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Calvin Marlin is heading from Supersport United to compulsive-spending Mamelodi Sundowns next season was provided on Monday by Brazilians coach Neil Tovey.

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/ 28 February 2006

Ethiopia tests dead chickens for bird flu

Ethiopian officials announced on Tuesday that tests are under way at a southern poultry farm after thousands of chickens died of a ”bird-flu-like” disease. The fear is that the disease will turn out to be the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the bird-flu virus that has killed more than 90 people, mostly in Asia, since 2003.

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/ 28 February 2006

Houses, shops flooded in Thabazimbi

Heavy rains in Thabazimbi, Limpopo, have caused several houses and shops in the town to be flooded, resulting in thousands of rands in damages, a municipal spokesperson said on Tuesday. Segale Pilane said a municipal task team was on its way to the affected areas to assess the extent of the damage.

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/ 28 February 2006

No word on Van Rooyen ‘bribe’ claim

Free State rugby boss Harold Verster remains mum on reports that ousted South African Rugby Union president Brian van Rooyen had allegedly tried to bribe him, media reports said on Tuesday. Van Rooyen reportedly offered Verster R3-million and a Test match if his union switched allegiance to Van Rooyen before the presidential election.