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/ 18 November 2004
South African President Thabo Mbeki is engaged in political firefighting in the Côte d’Ivoire, where fears of a full-scale civil war between government and rebel forces loom large. Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producer, began slipping into chaos on November 4 when the army attacked the rebel-held north, shattering a fragile 18-month ceasefire.
‘Everyone wants peace’
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/ 18 November 2004
Margaret Hassan had devoted 30 years of her life to the health and welfare of the Iraqi people. She was a convert to Islam, fluent in Arabic, with an Iraqi husband. She was a well-known, respected and accepted figure in Baghdad and vocal critic of the United States-led war on her adopted country. But this week it appeared that not even those credentials could save her from death at the hands of her kidnappers.
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/ 18 November 2004
Gesine Schwan heads a university dedicated to Europe, ran for German president and learned French and Polish as a child to help heal the wounds inflicted on her family by Nazism. A native of Berlin, Schwan’s parents were members of the resistance who hid a Jewish girl during World War II. But because Poland ”suffered even more at the hands of Germany than France” — over six million Poles were killed — she has dedicated her prodigious energies to reconciliation.
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/ 18 November 2004
Condoleezza Rice’s 500m move from the White House to the State Department is a supreme act of vindication by a president who believes he has the popular will behind him. ”She’s fun to be with,” Bush said at the time. ”I like lighthearted people, not people who take themselves so seriously. Besides, she’s really smart!” The new state secretary has become the first black woman to fill a post that first belonged to Thomas Jefferson.
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/ 18 November 2004
South Africa team manager Arthob Petersen has insisted there was no external pressure to pick Breyton Paulse for Saturday’s Twickenham Test against world champions England after coach Jake White admitted he was thinking of dropping the experienced wing.
Squad upsets ANC Youth League
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/ 18 November 2004
Young Russians are reluctant to be weaned off cigarettes and a drive to persuade them hand over their packets of fags in return for sweets on Thursday fell flat, organisers admitted. Militants of the youth section of the pro-Kremlin United Russia armed themselves with sweets which they hoped to exchange for 3 000 packets of cigarettes to mark an anti-smoking day in Russia’s port on the Pacific.
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/ 18 November 2004
Cycling fever is reaching an all-time high in Johannesburg with the world’s second-biggest timed cycle race, the Pick ‘n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge, taking place in Johannesburg on Sunday. The race, often referred to as ”Jo’burg’s Toughest”, has experienced phenomenal growth, with 25 000 entries in its eighth year.
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/ 18 November 2004
Mark Boucher, who has been threatening to deliver a substantial innings all season, exploded into action at Sahara Oval St George’s on Wednesday night, smashing 77 off 54 balls to help the Warriors secure their first victory of the season in their Standard Bank Cup limited-overs cricket match against Western Province-Boland.
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/ 18 November 2004
World number one Roger Federer won his 20th consecutive match over a top-10 opponent, downing Lleyton Hewitt for the fifth time in a row to book a semifinal spot at the ATP Masters Cup. The 23-year-old Swiss defending champion beat Hewitt 6-3, 6-4 in Houston on Wednesday.