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/ 27 January 2005
"Some amongst us" (a presidential signature-phrase) who, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, dashed for cover when police fired purple rain at protesters, and rubber bullets and tear gas at funerals and marches in the 1980s, will vouch that he was not a media creation. Some amongst us will know that his history cannot be rewritten to suit a party agenda.
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/ 27 January 2005
What started as secular socialist rule under the Ba’athists ended as a tribal Sunni regime led by Hussein. For centuries they have comprised the ruling class, but since the fall of Hussein everything has changed for Iraq’s Sunni Arabs. This weekend’s elections are likely only to reinforce their disaffection.
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/ 27 January 2005
In a promising development, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army, the rebel movement that took up arms against Khartoum in 1983, appears to be giving priority to education. Schooling for girls will receive particular attention. The emphasis on educating girls reflects a larger strategy within the movement to address cultural factors that undermine the status of women.
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/ 26 January 2005
Eight current and former MPs have been served with summonses for repayment of more than R1,3-million in travel claims. The eight are Mnyamazeli Booi, Bangilizwe Solo, Jabu Sosibo, Barbara Thompson, Makatse Maine, Patrick Maloyi, Pemmy Majodina and Buti Mkhaliphi. The summonses were served in Cape Town on Tuesday.
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/ 26 January 2005
The world is expected to pause on Thursday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camps, but the event will largely pass unmarked in South Africa. While not an official event, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies is hosting a function to commemorate the day in Johannesburg on Thursday.
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/ 26 January 2005
Who will rise 86 storeys in about 45 minutes on February 1 and then plan on doing it again next year? The answer, if experience is a guide, is Chico Scimone, a 94-year-old Italian musician. Scimone will be among the more than 150 athletes taking part in the annual Fleet Empire State Building Run-Up.
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/ 26 January 2005
A Metrolink commuter train derailed before dawn on Wednesday in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, killing at least four people and injuring many others, authorities said. Firefighters could be seen carrying injured people from the cars, as smoke wafted from twisted wreckage at the scene of the crash.
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/ 26 January 2005
Bucking oppposition from conservative Islamists, Zanzibar’s Parliament on Wednesday repealed a controversial law that prescribed jail terms of up to two years for unmarried young women who fall pregnant. The jail sentence has been replaced with six months of community service for pregnant young women.
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/ 26 January 2005
More than 30 United States soldiers were reportedly killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, in the biggest single loss of life of American life in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, just four days before the country’s landmark elections. Meanwhile, more insurgents acted on threats to escalate violence ahead of the vote.