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/ 12 February 2004

‘Sex, a lot of sex, Nazis, more Nazis’

He is one of Germany’s hottest young novelists. And, until last week, few in Germany’s literary world doubted that Thor Kunkel’s latest novel, Final Stage, was going to be anything but a rip-roaring success. The novel had all the right ingredients — sex, a lot of sex, Nazis, more Nazis, and a spectacular romantic finale.

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/ 12 February 2004

ANC wins by-election in Gugs

The African National Congress in the Western Cape has won Wednesday’s ward 42 by-election in Guguletu with an 86% majority. The Independent Electoral Commission spokesperson, Courtney Sampson, confirmed the result on Thursday morning. The only other party that contested the poll was the Pan Africanist Congress.

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/ 12 February 2004

Why was €1-million a month sent to Arafat’s wife?

French public prosecutors said on Wednesday they had opened a money-laundering inquiry into suspect transfers totalling about â,¬9-million (about R78-million) into Paris bank accounts held by the wife of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. The Bank of France and an anti-laundering agency noticed payments of about â,¬1-million a month entering Suha Arafat’s accounts.

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/ 12 February 2004

24 hours in Iraq: 102 dead

The United States military in Iraq on Wednesday night sought to blame al-Qaeda loyalists and foreign militants for a series of recent suicide bombings, including two attacks that killed more than 100 Iraqis in 24 hours. Commanders released details of a 17-page letter they claim was written by Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian fugitive allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden.

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/ 12 February 2004

$66-billion bid for troubled empire

Walt Disney was on Wednesday fighting for survival after the United States’s biggest cable television company, Comcast, laid siege to the magic kingdom with a -billion bid. The Disney empire, which enjoyed a renaissance in the late 1980s and early 1990s, has foundered for the past five years, leading to persistent speculation that it could be subject to a bid.

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/ 12 February 2004

Bill for nuptials of tycoon’s sons: a cool £50-million

It is a tale of two weddings and a billionaire. In one of India’s poorest states, Uttar Pradesh, a six-day celebration estimated to cost more than £50-million (about R626-million), started this week for the nuptials of two sons of one of India’s wealthiest men. The venue is a huge site dominated by a floodlit lake and complete with a London orchestra and a replica of the White House.

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/ 12 February 2004

Educating the masses

"Pirate software fans, ahoy. Remember the laughable campaigns about home taping killing local music? Yeah, right. The truth is something else entirely." And Bush, Blair, Mugabe, chemistry students, the Minister of Education, Mel Gibson and Condoleezza Rice also fall under the knife of Ian Fraser.

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/ 12 February 2004

Revise old commercial laws, say accountants

Much of South Africa’s commercial law is years out of date and this has severe implications for auditors, accountants, directors and investors, says South African Institute of Chartered Accountants executive president Ignatius Sehoole. "South Africa is very slow to respond to the legislative requirements of a changing marketplace," he said.