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/ 16 November 2004

Zambia bans civic group for ‘security reasons’

The Zambian government on Monday banned a civic organisation critical of President Levy Mwanawasa for allegedly ”endangering the country’s security”. The Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes has been openly critical of Mwanawasa and has put pressure on him to adopt a new democratic Constitution before the next presidential election in 2006.

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/ 16 November 2004

Drunk driving crackdown: Bank will take the car

Alleged drunk driver Benjamin Kleinbooi’s car could end up with Toyota’s financial services division, rather than being forfeited to the state, it emerged on Monday. Kleinbooi’s Toyota Corolla was attached last week by the Asset Forfeiture Unit under a High Court order, after his two drunk driving arrests earlier this year.

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/ 16 November 2004

Gold miners clash over spy claim

The battle for control of South African mining group Gold Fields turned nasty on Monday when predator Harmony accused its rival of attempting to ”corrupt” one of its employees to gain information. In an astonishing statement, Harmony said it was ”outraged” at the depths to which Gold Fields was willing to stoop in its effort to fend off a takeover.

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/ 16 November 2004

Spy who came back from the dead

Spain’s most infamous spy returned from the dead on Monday, five years after his sister published a death notice and paid for the monks at a monastery near the central Spanish city of Burgos to pray for his soul. His supposed death was thought by many to have brought to an end a tale of espionage, trickery, double-crossing and high-living spanning more than 20 years.

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/ 16 November 2004

Arafat heir beats off Fatah ‘old guard’

The man widely expected to succeed Yasser Arafat in next year’s Palestinian elections, Mahmoud Abbas, on Monday appeared to win a power struggle in the dominant Fatah movement after a bloody gun battle in Gaza City. The Fatah secretary general in Gaza, Ahmed Hillis, led dozens of armed men in storming a mourning tent for Arafat on Sunday.

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/ 16 November 2004

Cuban troupe in mass defection

Members of a theatrical production staged the largest mass defection of Cuban performers to date on Monday as 43 cast members of Havana Night Club applied for political asylum at a United States federal court in Las Vegas. ”Art should have no boundaries,” Nicole ”ND” Durr, the company’s founder, told the Associated Press.

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/ 16 November 2004

A profoundly positive approach

The Chinese government sees him as a separatist, says the Dalai Lama, during his week-long visit to Johannesburg. "That is anti-people, anti-government, anti-Communist Party. So, therefore, I am a criminal." And then he laughs. It is a laugh filled with irony and lightness. Calling him a "political exile engaging in activities to split China" is not unlike saying the same thing about Nelson Mandela pre-1990. He speaks to the <i>M&G</i> about peace, freedom and the global good.

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/ 16 November 2004

Far East in the near east

From birth we hear food being prepared, savour its aromas, see it displayed as art-about-to-be-eaten, touch and taste it. In marvelling at how food makes the unknown familiar, we acknowledge its role as ambassador for other ways of being in the world, for perspectives, tastes, values and aesthetics different to our own. Chinese restaurants in South Africa offer a chance to explore the soul of that vast country — and great food.