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/ 25 September 2005

Bulls remain at top of the log

The Blue Bulls overcame a spirited Cheetahs side 26 -22 in Currie Cup premier division match in Bloemfontein on Saturday. Cheetahs flyhalf Willem de Waal did not put a boot wrong when he slotted six out of six kicks for a personal tally of 17 points, while Derick Hougaard bagged 16 points from four penalties and two conversions.

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/ 25 September 2005

Inside the best school in the world

Juxu Herka (13) kicks her Adidas trainers into a pile of assorted Nikes and Pumas and walks to her English class in her socks — a morning ritual at Arabia School in Helsinki which gives a clue to why Finland has the best state schools in the world. This land of vodka and Nokia phones has more graduates than any other country and its 15-year-olds are the best at solving maths problems.

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/ 25 September 2005

Gaza erupts as Israel strikes back at Hamas

Israeli aircraft blasted suspected Palestinian weapons facilities and other militant targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Sunday, at the launch of what the military said would be a ”prolonged” offensive against Hamas militants for bombarding
Israeli towns with rockets. A group of senior Israeli Cabinet officials, led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, approved the military operation in Gaza at an emergency meeting late on Saturday after Hamas militants fired nearly 40 rockets from Gaza at southern Israeli towns.

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/ 25 September 2005

Rita brings rain

Rita is no longer a hurricane but is expected to produce ”torrential rains during the next few days,” the National Hurricane Centre said on Saturday. At 6pm GMT Rita’s wind strength had slackened to about 105km per hour, making her a tropical storm. The United States Energy Department said it expects ”minimal disruption” to oil supplies.

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/ 25 September 2005

‘Viva same sex marriage, viva’

Several thousand people streamed through the streets of Johannesburg on Saturday in the 16th annual Gay Pride march themed ”the right to be, the freedom to express”. On foot or dancing on buses or trucks, a largely white crowd made its festive way through the city under the blazing sun.

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/ 24 September 2005

Teach them history

The other day I saw a fat, white kid in the international departure hall at Johannesburg airport. His straining T-shirt had three broad hoops of colour across it: orange, white and blue. On his belly the flags of the Transvaal Republic, Orange Free State and Cape Colony bulged out of shape

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/ 24 September 2005

Africa’s time has come …

Looking back, it is clear when the tide turned on Britain’s year for Africa. The four bombs in the London rush hour on the morning of July 7 marked the high water mark of the West’s cooperation on development and things have never been quite the same since. The terrorists timed their attacks to coincide with the G8 Gleneagles summit.