After a tumultuous 2003, the world this year will free itself of major wars and the global economy will accelerate as a new cycle of good fortune is ushered in, astrologers across Asia predict. Stargazers agree that the coming 12 months cannot fare much worse than the see-saw ride that the world went through in 2003..
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/ 31 December 2003
Democratic Alliance (DA) congratulated matriculants, although it said teachers should not place emphasis on the pass rate over quality education. In a statement on Tuesday DA spokesperson Willem Doman said the DA was also concerned that the number of pupils writing matric had fallen since 1998.
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/ 31 December 2003
As the dollar continues to plumb new lows against the euro there are increasing concerns that the European currency’s 20% appreciation against the greenback this year could hold back the zone’s economic recovery.
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/ 31 December 2003
President Thabo Mbeki said it was proper that South Africa had donated R10-million to help with Haiti’s 200th anniversary of independence celebrations, and he said those who would criticise the action ”don’t know anything about the bicentennial”.
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/ 31 December 2003
A host of companies around the world provided military equipment to Iraq in the run-up to war, sending it mainly through Syria, according to documents discovered in Baghdad. The evidence appears to point to a Damascus company run by a relative of the Syrian president.
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/ 31 December 2003
The United States yesterday signalled a dramatic shift in its attitude towards Iran, a country previously branded by President George Bush as part of an ”axis of evil”. Bush is willing to open a dialogue with the Islamic republic but would like to see some ”gesture in return”, a senior US official said.
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/ 31 December 2003
Political parties and education organisations scrambled to get their say over the 4,4% increase in matric pass rate in 2003. The results were generally hailed by most quarters as an improvement, although concern was voiced by some, calling the pass rate ”inflated”.
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/ 31 December 2003
The samples taken from a cross-border trader who died at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on Christmas Day tested negative for a variety of contagious diseases, including Ebola, a Johannesburg laboratory has reported. Zimbabwe has been on high alert after the trader died from a suspected viral fever.
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/ 31 December 2003
Four years ago a meagre eight percent of the matriculants in Seemahale Secondary School in Botshabelo in the Free State passed their final school year. This year, a full 98% of this year’s 108 Seemahale matrics learnt that they had passed, earning the resource-poor school the title of best improved Free State school.
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/ 31 December 2003
With next year’s Athens Olympics looming, there seems to be a concerted effort to get the controversial Springbok symbol to be the national symbol for all sporting codes beyond the rugby field. A sports ministry spokesperson has dismissed the possible Springbok sporting lobby as those ”looking for news”.