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/ 8 November 2005

Mugabe tells US envoy to ‘go to hell’

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday said the United States ambassador to the country, Christopher Dell, accused by Harare of ”undiplomatic behaviour” could end up in hell, a state news agency reported. ”Tell him [Dell] that I can’t spell ‘Dell’ but ‘hell’,” the New Ziana news agency quoted Mugabe as saying.

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/ 8 November 2005

Mpumalanga government defrauded of R26m

An audit report has revealed that the Mpumalanga education department has been defrauded of R26-million because of toilets and water tanks that were never supplied. According to the audit report the contractors were appointed to build toilets and provide water tanks to schools used as polling stations during the last national elections.

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/ 8 November 2005

Beckham tests new Adidas soccer boot

David Beckham will hope to bend the ball even further at next year’s World Cup finals in his new soccer boots. The Real Madrid and England midfielder took turns with other top players taking free kicks and playing soccer tennis at an Adidas boot launch. They also shot a ball against a wall to measure how fast it was moving.

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/ 8 November 2005

Destitute Afghanistan opens luxurious hotel

President Hamid Karzai officially opened the most luxurious hotel in destitute Afghanistan on Tuesday, with the five-star Kabul Serena touted as a means to lure investors and dollar-spending tourists. The $36,5-million hotel, opposite the heavily fortified presidential palace, is an almost-total overhaul of the once-famous Kabul Hotel that was badly damaged in the 1992-1996 civil war.

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/ 8 November 2005

Zim surrounded by sound and fury

Christopher Dell, the United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, did not mince words. President Robert Mugabe’s government was guilty of gross mismanagement and corruption, Dell said in a speech last week. ”No wrongs are righted. The rule of law [is] in a shambles.”

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/ 8 November 2005

African scientists told to leave their ivory towers

Science institutions in Africa must do more to ensure their research is put to practical use against agricultural, health and other problems, and governments must invest more in research if they want to develop, officials said. Mohamed Hassan, president of the Nairobi-based African Academy of Sciences, said such institutions too often do little more than bestow honours on their members.