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/ 21 January 2005

Iraqi elections go ahead despite violence

The chief United Nations election official in Iraq said on Thursday that elections could still be held next week despite the torrent of violence that has shaken the country. There had been an ”intense campaign of intimidation” against Iraqi election officials, said Carlos Valenzuela, a Colombian who has helped to run 14 elections in other parts of the world.

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/ 21 January 2005

Stability in short supply

When Omar Henry was in charge of South Africa’s cricket selectors, he was fond of proclaiming that ”we’re building for the 2007 World Cup”. His successor, Haroon Lorgat, is a little more cautious. Long-term goals are all very well, but the United Cricket Board, not to mention the captain, the coach and the public at large, tend to measure success and failure by the here and now.

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/ 21 January 2005

Wave forms

<i>Souvenir</i> — Jane Rosenthal’s second novel for adults — is set in the Karoo in the late 21st-century, and contains striking descriptions of tidal waves that devour the coastline. Shirley Kossick reviews. <i>Souvenir</i>
By <b>Jane Rosenthal</b>
(Bromponie)

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/ 21 January 2005

Call Mr Delivery

New hopes for 2005: "freedom of expression will be respected, that representative structures of artists will be viewed as expressions of democracy rather than as threats, and for consultation and transparency to be resurrected", writes Mike van Graan.

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/ 21 January 2005

Costco gets into fine art market

Costco has a reputation for stacking ’em high and selling ’em cheap. From toilet rolls to bread rolls, the warehouse store has built its reputation on providing its customers with the basics of modern life at rock-bottom prices. But on Wednesday the United States company, which has branches in Britain, did something to shake off its utilitarian image: it sold an original Picasso drawing for  999.

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/ 21 January 2005

Guggenheim’s $77m man quits as chairperson

The Guggenheim Museum has lost its chairperson and chief benefactor in a row over the direction of the world-famous institution. The stetson-wearing, yacht-owning billionaire Peter B Lewis has resigned after having donated a total of -million to the institution. He cited ”differences in direction” between him and the museum’s controversial director, Thomas Krens.