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/ 17 January 2005

Canada cancels Madagascar debt

The government of Canada has cancelled $21-million in debt owed to Canada by Madagascar under the Canadian Debt Initiative. Canada has also announced $42-million in increased funding to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, according to Paul Boothe, the G8 personal representative for Canada.

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/ 17 January 2005

New Clicks turnover up 25%

Health and beauty retailer New Clicks has increased its turnover from continuing operations by 25% in the four months from September 1 to December 31 2004, versus the previous year, aided by the inclusion of pharmacy operations compared with the year-earlier period. Group sales totalled R2,97-billion for the four months.

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/ 17 January 2005

Put on a hard hat for the Rijksmuseum

Diggers are ripping apart ceilings that obscured a dazzling glass roof and beautiful mosaics hidden beneath modern floorboards. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, famed for its collection of Rembrandts and Vermeers, is opening its buildings to the public in the middle of a renovation. Visitors attending the weekly tour have to wear a yellow hard hat.

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/ 17 January 2005

Army investigating ‘war-capable weapons’

Investigations were continuing into the origins of some of the artefacts at Johannesburg’s SA National Museum of Military History, a South African National Defence Force spokesperson said on Monday. This follows a raid last week and the arrest of the museum’s director and two curators under laws governing the way military items are disposed of.

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/ 17 January 2005

Angolans pay the price for diamond mining

Like much of the hidden richness of Africa, the diamond mine at Catoca in eastern Angola strikes the rare visitor as a surprising oasis of wealth in the middle of a desert of poverty. The open-sky mineworks look like a huge upside-down pyramid where the Catoca Mining Company turns out more than three-million carats of rough diamond a year.

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/ 17 January 2005

Federer breezes past first opponent

Top-ranked Roger Federer ripped 54 winners past Fabrice Santoro on Monday, opening his Australian Open title defence with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory. In women’s first-round matches, Serena Williams had more trouble with her shoes than she did with Camille Pin, winning 6-1, 6-1 in the opening match on centre court.

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/ 17 January 2005

Zimbabwe in command against Bangladesh

Tatenda Taibu completed his maiden Test century to put Zimbabwe in a strong position on the fourth day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Monday. The Zimbabwean captain (21) cracked a solid 153 not out as Zimbabwe reached 285-9 in their second innings at lunch for an overall lead of 372 runs.