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/ 22 November 2005

Sharon defies political odds again

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, classified unfit for office more than two decades ago, continues to defy the political obituarists even after a divorce from his right-wing support base. Controversy has stalked Sharon, who first came to prominence as commander of the special forces’ Unit 101 in the 1950s, throughout his public life.

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/ 22 November 2005

Contract signed with Germany for nuclear reactor

South African nuclear vendor PBMR has signed a contract with German company SGL Carbon for the supply of hardware for the construction of an envisaged demonstration power plant. The contract, worth about €20-million (or R154 million), was the largest hardware order placed by PBMR so far, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

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/ 22 November 2005

Dutch man on trial for genocide

The first European Union citizen to face charges of complicity in genocide and international war crimes went on trial in The Netherlands on Monday accused of aiding Saddam Hussein to gas the Kurds of Halabja almost 20 years ago. Frans van Anraat was arrested almost a year ago in Amsterdam just as he was preparing to leave the country, with his suitcases packed and a new passport in his pocket.

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/ 22 November 2005

Merkel takes the reins in Germany

Angela Merkel was sworn in as Germany’s first woman Chancellor before the Bundestag Lower House of Parliament following her formal election by the chamber on Tuesday. The pastor’s daughter became Germany’s eighth post-war leader and the first person from the former communist east to take the helm of the reunited country.

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/ 22 November 2005

World’s ugliest dog dies at 14

Sam, the dog whose ugliness earned him television appearances, limousine rides and even a meeting with Donald Trump, has died, the <i>Santa Barbara News-Press</i> reported on Tuesday. The pooch with the hairless body, crooked teeth and sparse tuft of hair atop his knobby head died on Friday.

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/ 22 November 2005

Potter’s scare tactic works wonders

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire may be the scariest of the films about the teen wizard but it also had the most successful opening of the series. Warner Brothers said Potter was the top film in all 19 countries where it opened at the weekend, including the United States, where it ended a box-office slump, and in Britain, where it smashed all records.

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/ 22 November 2005

Masetlha keeps his powder dry

National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha’s application to have his suspension overturned was removed from the Pretoria High Court’s urgent roll on Tuesday and postponed indefinitely. Masetlha’s attorney, Imraan Haffegee, said his client will no longer pursue the matter in the form of an urgent application.