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/ 10 July 2004

‘Coarse’ Australia told to behave

In a country which sees ”bastard” and ”ratbag” as terms of endearment, a call for a return to old-fashioned standards of courtesy might seem out of place. But the Australian prime minister has called on his country — well known for its fertile imagination in inventing terms for vomiting — to behave with more civility.

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/ 10 July 2004

Bushmen fight for ancestral lands

It was a little court in a big desert, and the lawyers grew uneasy as the shadows lengthened: lions are nocturnal hunters. It was a surreal safari, where baseball caps and sunglasses replaced wigs and robes, but there was no doubting the seriousness of this week’s effort to bring justice to the Kalahari.

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/ 10 July 2004

Armstrong: Bruised, but far from out

Lance Armstrong knows his bid for a record sixth Tour de France victory could all end in one crash. So he wasn’t pleased when dozens of riders went down in a pile in front of him. The crash at the finish in Angers was the final straw for a five-time champion already bruised up in a tumble.

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/ 10 July 2004

Pirates hammer Sable De Batie 4-2

Orlando Pirates hammered Sable de Batie 4-2 in the first clash of their Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match at the Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney on Friday. The Buccaneers, in their popular black and white strip, made use of their territorial advantage without giving the visitors much room for manoeuvre.

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/ 9 July 2004

Govt shocks unions with dispute call

The government has shocked public service unions by declaring a dispute following two months of wage negotiations in Centurion, unions said on Friday. A Department of Public Service and Administration spokesperson said the government feels there has been no ”movement” since the start of negotiations.

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/ 9 July 2004

Prison strike averted

Prison warders will be back at work nationwide this weekend after a last-minute resolution to the staffing crisis, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said on Friday. The Department of Correctional Services has agreed to increase the weekend staff component back to 46% of weekday numbers.

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/ 9 July 2004

Report blames DRC for diamond smuggling

Millions of dollars in smuggled Central African diamonds are being routed through Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates to evade intensifying controls at the world’s main diamond market, say investigators trying to curb trade in conflict diamonds. The investigators have called for ”urgent corrective action” by the Democratic Republic of Congo.