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/ 26 December 2003
Rescue teams and technicians were on Friday feverishly working to contain the spread of toxic fumes after a blowout at a natural gas field left at least 191 people dead and hundreds more injured. More than 41 000 villagers were forced to flee from the danger zone.
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/ 26 December 2003
A mudslide swept over a Greek Orthodox youth camp in California, trapping 24 people as heavy rains triggered flooding in areas ravaged by deadly wildfires last month, authorities said. Fourteen people were rescued on Thursday, but 10 remained missing. Continuing rainfall hampered rescue efforts.
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/ 26 December 2003
A Palestinian suicide bombing at a bus stop outside Tel Aviv killed four young Israelis just minutes after an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at a car in Gaza, killing a senior Islamic Jihad commander and four others. The attacks on Thursday were the first of their kind in more than two months.
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/ 26 December 2003
A major earthquake hit southeast Iran early on Friday, killing "very many" people and destroying the historic quarter of the city of Bam, Kerman province Governor Mohamed Ali Karimi told Iranian radio. Karimi said: "The damage is very widespread and the number of victims is very high."
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29021">Infant killed in Costa Rica quake</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29022">Aftershocks rattle California</a>
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/ 26 December 2003
Well-known Wattville, Benoni, community leader and soccer stalwart Henry Podile Phoky Mokoka has died following a long illness. Mokoka (75) died on December 24. He was a director of the Sundowns Football Club. Club spokesperson Kgati Sathekge said: ”Mr Mokoka was a key father figure and mentor.”
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/ 25 December 2003
Checking flight arrival and departure times or the status of your bank account has never been easier. With the advent of speech-recognition software, and its more advanced application, you are now able to avoid the call-centre loop and get the information you require by speaking directly to the telephone.
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/ 25 December 2003
Cape Town’s Long Street scores an extreme makeover this season. Buildings are being refurbished or renovated to accommodate inner-city living and 210 Long Street launches its first mini-mall. From upmarket studios to an "African" mini-mall — trendy Long Street is being transformed.
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/ 25 December 2003
United States fast-food giants will have to act quickly to head off public fears over mad cow disease and convince consumers to keep eating hamburgers. World fast-food leader McDonald’s and its rivals such as Wendy’s and Burger King risk being among the main losers.
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/ 25 December 2003
The collapse of Italian food giant Parmalat, which has rocked the business world and is being compared to the massive accounting scandal that brought down United States energy trader Enron, is the result of 11 months of deepening financial problems.
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/ 25 December 2003
Pope John Paul II used the traditional Christmas Eve midnight mass at the Vatican on Wednesday to reiterate a call for world peace, saying ”too much blood” continues to be shed in conflicts around the globe. ”Too much violence and too many conflicts trouble the peaceful coexistence of nations!” the pope said