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/ 21 February 2005

Bush: Why I won’t admit trying dope

Former United States president Bill Clinton said he’d tried it but hadn’t inhaled. George Bush decided that it was best just to duck the issue altogether. ”I wouldn’t answer the marijuana questions,” the president told a friend and adviser during his first presidential campaign. ”You know why? Because I don’t want some little kid doing what I tried.”

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/ 21 February 2005

Security tight as Bush flies in to heal divisions

United States President George Bush landed in Brussels on Sunday night for four days of talks with European Union and Russian leaders, which are being held amid unprecedented security. With hopes for the talks tinged with wariness and anxiety in Europe, the first foreign trip of the second Bush term was a signal of the White House’s new priority to repair relations with Europe.

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/ 21 February 2005

UN refugee chief quits over harassment claims

The former Dutch prime minister Ruud Lubbers resigned on Sunday as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment. Lubbers (65) who has been in charge of the UN’s refugee operation since 2001, stepped down following a meeting with the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, on Friday.

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/ 21 February 2005

An anatomy of power

There is a New Establishment for the New South Africa, underwritten by a New Network of Influence. Such networks are, by definition, amorphous. There is no list, no membership application form. Nor can one say that there is a formulaic list of characteristics; it is not a dating agency. Richard Calland explores South Africa’s batting order of political power.

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/ 21 February 2005

Random multicultural madness

"Players of the online game <i>Everquest</i> can now order pizza from within the game itself. Now that’s a sign of a society that’s moving in the right direction. Who needs streets, housing, sanitation, civil order, education or a decent government?" Ian Fraser delves into the world of the internet and comes up with weird headstones, brains in bottles and much more.

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/ 21 February 2005

Mboweni’s ‘new’ focus

Recently, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni changed everything but interest rates. He shifted the Reserve Bank’s focus and the future of the South African economy when he said: "It is important South Africa has a competitive and stable exchange rate, which is beneficial to the local economy …" A central banker expanding his mandate beyond price stability to include competitiveness is remarkable.

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/ 21 February 2005

Enyimba retain Super Cup

Nigeria’s two-time African champions Enyimba needed two extra-time goals against Ghana’s Confederation Cup winners Hearts of Oak to hold on to the Super Cup they won last year. There were no goals after regulation time for either team, both of whom were depleted by the departure of top stars recently.

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/ 21 February 2005

IOC committee begins Big Apple adventure

A -million sales pitch aimed at luring the 2012 Olympics to New York began on Sunday when the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation commission arrived in the well-polished Big Apple. The 13-member panel has already visited rival finalists London and Madrid and will journey to Paris and Moscow next month.

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/ 21 February 2005

Afrikaans is here to stay

What to do with the Afrikaners? And what should the Afrikaners be doing? Whereas the latter question has been a subject of intense debate among Afrikaners since 1994, the former one is not really being debated by the wider South African society. The majority of South Africans do not seem to think there is an ”Afrikaans question”.