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/ 23 December 2004

Tremors may signal political earthquake in North Korea

European policymakers have been advised to prepare for ”sudden change” in North Korea amid growing speculation among diplomats and observers that Kim Jong-il is losing his grip on power. A European Union delegation to Pyongyang recommended a review of the union’s policy towards the peninsula, including proposals for closer engagement with North Korea.

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/ 23 December 2004

Washington Post group buys Slate

It was supposed to be the future of journalism, but on Wednesday Slate, the online magazine owned by Microsoft, was sold to a rather more traditional publisher, the Washington Post. Its editor, Jacob Weisberg, said: ”We just came to the realisation that at this stage in our growth and the development of the magazine, it made sense for us to be at a more traditional media company.”

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/ 23 December 2004

EU upholds Microsoft antitrust ruling

Microsoft on Wednesday failed to suspend antitrust sanctions ordered by the European commission and must now disclose secret protocols of its Windows software to rivals and market a version of Windows without its Media Player. The European Union’s second-highest court dismissed Microsoft’s application in its entirety.

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/ 23 December 2004

Ghost of apartheid returns to farmlands

A hunting boom driven by wealthy tourists is pushing black South Africans off the land to make way for game, generating anger that, a decade after apartheid, whites still own most of the countryside. Hundreds of commercial farms have evicted their labourers and converted into game parks, turning swaths of arable land into fenced wilderness for trophy animals such as lions and antelopes.

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/ 23 December 2004

Three-year low for Harmony

World number-six gold miner Harmony Gold on Thursday fell to a fresh three-year low as the rand touched another six-year best and the rand gold price fell below R80 000 per kilogram for the first time since August 11 2004. Harmony is also under pressure due to its hostile takeover bid for world number-four gold miner Gold Fields.

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/ 23 December 2004

Be cool, like Miles Davis

It has been a contradictory year, pulling us between the heights of optimism and the depths of despair. At home, 2004 started as a year of celebration. Ten years of freedom was a beacon that cast a glittering light on the achievement of a normal society. The world beyond proved a darker place.

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/ 23 December 2004

Consolation win for WP-Boland

With the log positions already settled, the only talking point of the match between Western Province-Boland (WP-Boland) and the Titans was likely to be the form of Herschelle Gibbs, playing his first match in five weeks. His hopes of proving his form and fitness for the second Test were dashed as he faced just five balls, and looked uncomfortable in the field.

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/ 23 December 2004

New rugby deal to be tough on players

The -million broadcasting deal that has secured the financial future of southern-hemisphere rugby for the next five years has been welcomed by New Zealand players, but they question the workload that goes with it. ”Like any deal, it has pros and cons,” players’ association chief executive Rob Nichol said on Thursday.

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/ 23 December 2004

West Indies sponsorship spat resolved

West Indies’ tour of Australia looks set to go ahead next month after the national cricket board and players association accepted the binding decision of an arbiter in their contract dispute on Wednesday. Justice Adrian Saunders ruled on whether individual players are allowed to hold endorsement deals in conflict with the cricket board’s official sponsor.