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/ 15 December 2004
Two celebrated red-tailed hawks whose eviction from their nest high atop a chic Manhattan building sparked protests from bird watchers will be allowed to rebuild their home in the same spot. But despite the agreement on Tuesday, all was not calm outside 927 Fifth Avenue.
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/ 15 December 2004
Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have agreed to reform some of that country’s electoral laws, but the opposition said it is ”dissatisfied” by the state’s attempts to portray absolute agreement. However, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said ”negations are over”.
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/ 15 December 2004
A species of dragonfly thought to be extinct has made a dramatic comeback following the removal of invasive alien trees by the Working for Water programme. The Ceres Stream damsel, or Metacnemis angusta, had not been spotted since 1920, the November/December issue of the Water Wheel reported.
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/ 15 December 2004
Two more hostages have been released by two men who hijacked a Greek bus with 25 passengers on board early on Wednesday, Greek television reported. The armed hijackers had earlier released two men and three women, one of whom told the private Greek radio station Skai that a ransom demand of one million euros had been made.
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/ 15 December 2004
The number of road deaths so far this December appears about the same as last year, the Department of Transport said in Pretoria on Wednesday. ”This is incredibly disappointing for us,” said the department’s chief director of land transportation regulation, Wendy Watson.
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/ 15 December 2004
Lawyers in South Africa for Mark Thatcher have appealed against a decision that would force the Briton to answer questions about his alleged role in a coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, his legal counsel said. His lawyers have repeatedly denied his involvement in the alleged coup.
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/ 15 December 2004
It was the social ticket of the year, a star-studded charity gala where the glitterati ate gourmet food prepared by Britain’s top chef. But for one party-goer, the curry house across the road just looked more tempting. Ivan Massow was condemned as ”childish” for snubbing his £1 200-a-plate (about R13 200) meal in favour of a takeaway.
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/ 15 December 2004
Austrians present their nearest and dearest with small ”lucky pigs” around Christmas time in a custom thought to date back to a spinster’s success in finding a husband. The ”Gluecksschweinchen”, made out of plastic, pewter, brass, or as a cuddly toy or even in bronze, is supposed to bring its recipient good fortune in the year to come.
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/ 15 December 2004
The chief executive of the British Red Cross has warned that the international movement’s neutrality is fast becoming a casualty of the global ”war on terror”. Nicholas Young said that the Untied States-led coalition’s defiance of international law in Iraq threatened to obliterate the capacity of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement to operate in areas of conflict.
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/ 15 December 2004
French prosecutors investigating the manslaughter of the 113 people killed in the Air France Concorde crash four years ago are to summon senior executives of the United States airline Continental. Judicial experts concluded on Tuesday that the disaster was caused by a titanium strip which fell off a Continental jet and was left lying on the runway of the Charles de Gaulle airport.