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/ 18 October 2005
Garcon! Clicking one’s fingers to grab the waiter’s attention is by far the worst restaurant etiquette blunder, a British survey revealed on Monday. In a poll of 8Â 683 people for the British food magazine <i>Olive</i>, 38% thought snapping fingers at a waiter was the most embarrassing gaffe possible while dining out.
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/ 18 October 2005
South Africa is ranked number 46 in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Although its score of 4,5 on a scale of 10 beat the global average of 4,11 and was way above the average of three for African countries, it only ranked third on the continent — being pipped by Botswana in 32nd place with a score of 5,9 and Tunisia in 43rd place with a score of 4,9.
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/ 18 October 2005
Football star George Weah faces a run-off against a former World Bank economist in the contest to become president of Liberia, as none of the candidates won an absolute majority in last week’s elections. With 90% of votes counted, Weah received 257 027, putting him at the front of a field of 22 candidates, while his closest rival, the Harvard-educated former finance minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, got 175 520.
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/ 18 October 2005
People suffering from gout should watch their vegetable intake because some have substances that can harm them, a group of German medical insurance technicians said. Peas, spinach and brussels sprouts are among the vegetables that people with gout should avoid because of their purine content, the insurance company advised.
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/ 18 October 2005
The JSE remained firm at lunchtime on Tuesday after trading was halted for more than an hour following a technical hitch at the JSE. The JSE stopped trading at 11am and the equity market moved to an opening auction at 12.10pm for 20 minutes and then to continuous trading at 12.30pm.
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/ 18 October 2005
A leading rights group has warned that the special Iraqi tribunal set up with United States sponsorship to try Saddam Hussein may not be able to give the former dictator and his top aides a fair trial. Saddam, now 68, will be in on court on Wednesday along with three former top lieutenants and four regional officials of his Ba’ath Party.
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/ 18 October 2005
The trouble with revolutions is that they raise expectations. When revolutionary change fails to materialise, disillusion sets in. That is the case to some extent in former Soviet Georgia. And it is the problem confronting Viktor Yushchenko, elected Ukraine’s hero-president after last year’s ”orange revolution”.
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/ 18 October 2005
The Zambian government on Tuesday reacted angrily after the French ambassador said oil company Total was being used as a scapegoat for fuel shortages hitting the Southern African country. French-owned Total holds a 50% stake in Zambia’s only oil refinery, Indeni, which was shut down for maintenance in early September and only resumed operations last week.
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/ 18 October 2005
Authorities urged residents to be on alert as Tropical Storm Wilma’s outer edge neared the Cayman Islands on Monday, packing strong rain and wind as it cut a path that could threaten Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula or Cuba. The record-tying 21st named storm of the season was moving slowly through the north-western Caribbean.
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/ 18 October 2005
The wage strike at retail chain Clicks, owned by listed health and beauty group New Clicks Holdings, continued on Tuesday with Clicks management and members of the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union finally going into mediation as the stayaway entered its 12th day.