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/ 8 December 2005

United crash out

Manchester United’s bid for a tenth consecutive appearance in the knockout stages of the was shattered by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Benfica in Spain on Wednesday. First-half goals from Brazilian striker Geovanni and midfielder Beto put the Portuguese champions into the last 16 after Paul Scholes had given United a 6th-minute lead.

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/ 8 December 2005

Unrepentant Saddam turns defence into attack

If found guilty, he could face the gallows. But since the start of his trial, deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has shown indifference for his victims, aggression to his judges and no regret for his more than two decades in power. Saddam has yet to reveal any hint of weakness in the face of the graphic and sometimes gruesome testimony from witnesses who stood just metres away from him.

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/ 8 December 2005

No Mandela Christmas party this year

The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund opted out of a big bash for underprivileged kids this year, and will instead deliver gifts to schools, it said on Wednesday. This was done in an attempt to ”minimise exposing children to unnecessary difficulties”, the fund said in a statement.

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/ 8 December 2005

Microsoft ready for Xbox rematch

When Microsoft brought the first Xbox game console to the home turf of its Japanese arch-rivals in 2002 it was nearly two years behind Sony’s PlayStation 2 and it has trailed behind ever since. This time the United States software giant is doing its utmost to prevent history from repeating itself.

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/ 8 December 2005

Syria ready to reopen Israel peace talks

Syria is engaged in clandestine talks about reopening peace negotiations with Israel in an attempt to head off United Nations sanctions next week over its alleged role in the February assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister. Bashar Assad, the Syrian president, is being urged by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan to restart bilateral talks with Israel that collapsed in 2000.

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/ 8 December 2005

Man shot dead by air marshals in Miami

An investigation was under way on Wednesday night into the fatal shooting of a mentally unstable passenger by federal air marshals at Miami airport. Officials said the passenger, a 44-year-old American man, Rigoberto Alpizar, had claimed he had a bomb in his hand luggage and was asked to leave the plane, an American Airlines flight to Orlando, while it was still at the gate.