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/ 31 October 2003
French President Jacques Chirac ended two days of intense but fruitless talks with France’s main political leaders this week still facing one of the most painful dilemmas of his long political career: whether or not to call a referendum to ratify Europe’s new Constitution.
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/ 31 October 2003
After 14 years in exile since the fall of his father’s regime, Taban Amin — the eldest son of Uganda’s infamous former dictator Idi Amin — returned home on Monday to a remarkably warm reception from the Ugandan government. For years Taban Amin had been living in Kinshasa.
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/ 31 October 2003
Rudolf Straeuli’s time in charge of the Springboks has reached the sudden death stage. If rumours are to be believed (and since that’s about all that emanates from SA Rugby these days some credence should be given to them) Straeuli’s troubled reign will end if South Africa finish worse than third at Rugby World Cup 2003.
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/ 31 October 2003
A week ago, the prospect of a depleted Samoan side causing the greatest upset of the 2003 Rugby World Cup seemed highly unlikely. Then came South Africa’s lacklustre effort against Georgia in Sydney last Friday, a performance which will live uncomfortably in the memories of this generation of Springboks.
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/ 31 October 2003
An old Bill Tidy cartoon still raises a smile. The Oxfam truck has arrived in a scorched African desert carrying a load of red-and-white scarves. “I see Arsenal lost again,” sniffs a local. The humour might be lost on the premiership, where Arsenal do not lose that often, and indeed have yet to be beaten this season.
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/ 31 October 2003
The Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, is bowing out of office in his own inimitable style: railing against Jews, the United States, and anyone hoping to see the end of authoritarian government in his country.
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/ 31 October 2003
After a train accident last week at a Cape Town station, a police officer, describing what happened to journalists, saw fit to mention that the train driver was a female who could be charged with culpable homicide. When was the last time you heard it mentioned that the driver involved in an accident was a male? And when brakes fail, does the gender really matter?
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/ 31 October 2003
D-Day has arrived for the South African 2010 bid company. Five inspectors from world soccer’s governing body, Fifa, arrived on Thursday to see for themselves whether South Africa is ready to host the World Cup in 2010. Only African countries are in the running for 2010.
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/ 31 October 2003
While Phillip Ndou has been acclaimed the best pound-for-pound boxer in South Africa since he beat Cassius Baloyi two years ago, on Saturday he faces an opponent who will put his ”greatness” in perspective. He meets one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world when he challenges “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather.
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/ 31 October 2003
These days only two things are certain about Paul Adams. The first is that he will hook a nasty fast bowler en route to a boisterous 12, and look marvellous doing it. The second is that once an over he will drag his Chinaman down short, probably at leg-stump and straight into the sweet spot of grateful heave through midwicket.