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/ 7 February 2005

Togo warned after ‘coup’

Togo’s army sealed its borders on Sunday and put Faure Gnassingbe in power following the death of his father, President Gnassingbe Eyadema. The African Union condemned the move as ”a military coup d’état”. Eyadema (69) Africa’s longest-serving ruler after 38 years in power, died on Saturday, apparently of a heart attack.

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/ 7 February 2005

JSE starts up on Wall Street, rand

The JSE Securities Exchange started the week on a firm note following a strong close on Wall Street and the softer rand. Resources and platinum counters were among the early features. The bourse was expected to look to the rand, which early on Monday morning weakened to 6,19 — its worst level this year.

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/ 7 February 2005

Exodus: Rastas flock to land of messiah

Jules Benji, a massed choir singing No Woman No Cry over his shoulder from a huge stage in Meskel Square, Addis Ababa, declared: ”We’re doing His Majesty’s work here. This is a historic day for Ethiopia.” His clothes were traditional Ethiopian, shining white, with a ceremonial dagger at his side. But his accent was pure Moss Side, Manchester.

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/ 7 February 2005

Debt write-off deal close, says G7

The leaders of the world’s richest nations are on course to sign a deal in the summer on debt relief, aid and trade to help the world’s poorest nations, the British government said on Sunday. Finance ministers from the G7 developed countries agreed an action plan at the weekend.

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/ 7 February 2005

Still no sign of editor’s seven-year-old son

A seven-year-old autistic boy who went missing on Sunday in Berario, north-west Johannesburg, had still not been found on Monday morning, his father said. The editor of the Sowetan Sunday World, Thabo Leshilo, father of Ofentse Leshilo, said this is not the first time his son, who is extremely hyperactive, has gone missing.

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/ 7 February 2005

Marvellous mud

If you’re after spa treatments, luxury safari lodges and chocolates on your pillow, then Mali is not for you. Even wildlife is not really on the agenda, bar a few hippos and crocodiles lurking in the boundless Niger river. But if you fancy a mind-boggling ethnic mosaic, seeing mud architecture that could have been designed by Gaudí and immersing yourself in the passions of an ancient cosmology — then this is your kind of place.