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/ 10 November 2004
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has called the prophet Muhammad a ”lecherous tyrant” and the Qur’an ”in part a licence for oppression”. Hirsi Ali says she is ”very much afraid”, suspecting that her film, Submission, was the direct cause of the death Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh last week. Jon Henley reports.
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/ 10 November 2004
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Wednesday asked whether members of a black empowerment consortium have used their official positions to obtain a deal with Telkom. The consortium, linked to the ruling African National Congress, is to buy a 15,1% share in Telkom worth more than R6,5-billion.
Banks will finance Telkom deal
Deal is ‘crony capitalism’
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/ 10 November 2004
The controversial new medicine regulations will come under the spotlight at the Constitutional Court on Thursday as dispensing doctors challenge sections that force them to register and complete new dispensing courses. Various aspects of the regulations have been rejected by health practitioners and pharmacists.
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/ 10 November 2004
A parliamentary committee has recommended South Africa’s free basic water (FBW) policy be ”re-determined” to exclude those who can afford to pay for their water supply. The FBW policy currently provides, free of charge, 6 000 litres of water per household per month to more than two-thirds of South Africa’s population.
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/ 10 November 2004
A 77-year-old woman in the Swiss city of Lausanne who illegally fed pigeons starved by Switzerland’s legendary cleanliness has been fined 8 000 Swiss francs (about R42 000), a local newspaper reported on Wednesday. ”The street sweepers do their job so well that the birds can’t find anything to eat,” she told a magistrate’s court.
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/ 10 November 2004
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Wednesday underlined his longstanding rejection of a demarcation line set in 2003 for his country’s border with Eritrea — but stressed he was ruling out any return to war. ”The bottom line for us is that this dispute must be resolved by peaceful means,” said Zenawi.
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/ 10 November 2004
Côte d’Ivoire opposition group leaders will arrive in Pretoria on Thursday for a second stage of talks to resolve the crisis in that country, news reports said on Wednesday. Clashes between the government, rebels and the French military shattered an 18-month-old ceasefire this week, and killed at least 145 people.
Foreigners, citizens flee violence
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/ 10 November 2004
A journalist, a female sculptor and a piano-playing painter are among 10 cultural heroes whose names have been stencilled onto the kerbs of streets officially renamed in the Newtown Cultural Precinct in Johannesburg on Wednesday. ”I feel especially consoled because everyone has shown such love,” said Smilo Duru, still mourning the loss of his mother singer Dolly Rathebe whose name now adorns Avenue Road.
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/ 10 November 2004
Crouching in mosques, rebels traded fire with United States troops on Wednesday in the heart of Fallujah as the military pushed south after seizing 70% of the Iraqi city on the second full day of battle. The Red Crescent painted a grim picture of the humanitarian conditions inside and said it is sending a small team to evaluate.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=125318">Family members of premier kidnapped</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=125276">House by house, Fallujah falls </a>
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/ 10 November 2004
A website that allows Americans to apologise to the rest of the world for the election victory of President George Bush was overwhelmed on Tuesday after a report about it on CNN. The website, sorryeverybody.com, features pictures of troubled United States citizens holding up signs of apology.