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/ 17 October 2003

Cue nervous laughter

Matt Dawson and Richard Hill are out of England’s side to play South Africa tomorrow. After a week of misinformation and rumour, coach Clive Woodward finally admitted defeat on the injury front yesterday, though he was masterfully upbeat about it all.

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/ 17 October 2003

Dividing the spoils of Iraq

About 100 private companies, mainly from Britain and the United States, gathered in London this week to discuss investment opportunities in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. The companies, mainly oil and banking, are being invited by the US and British governments to move in as soon as security is restored.

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/ 17 October 2003

Zanu-PF infighting stifles talks

Dialogue between Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF and opposition the MDC has been bogged down by succession battles in the ruling party, says MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube. No ”formal negotiations” are taking place between the MDC and Zanu-PF as no consensus on the issues for discussion had been reached, explains Ncube.

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/ 17 October 2003

A cautionary tale

Decolonised South Africa, like decolonised India nearly half a century earlier, began as the toast of the world. India had its Mahatma Gandhi; South Africa had (and still has) Nelson Mandela. The other leaders of the Indian and South African struggle, many of them first among equals of Gandhi and Mandela, were equally impressive.

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/ 17 October 2003

Attack on US could backfire

In the back streets of Gaza’s refugee camps they have little doubt about why they believe Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has a free hand to bulldoze their homes, rocket their neighbourhoods and cage the West Bank behind a vast ”security fence”. It is because the United States lets him do so.

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/ 17 October 2003

Prime minister sneers at ‘Geneva’ peace bid

Sharon has dismissed a draft peace agreement drawn up by left-wing Israeli politicians and Palestinian leaders as the ”greatest historic mistake” since the Oslo peace accords a decade ago. But supporters of the new ”Geneva accords” say that the deal is a breakthrough because it nails the government’s lie that there is no one to negotiate with.

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/ 17 October 2003

US troops to get a dose of culture

Out of a record -billion, there is something in next year’s Pentagon budget for everyone, even William Shakespeare. With the help of United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the Bard will get a million. That is the sum set aside for a new scheme to bring Shakespeare to US military bases for the first time.

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/ 17 October 2003

Wood will miss the war

It’s been a long week for all of us, players, fans and journalists alike, as we prepare for the biggest qualifying game of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Though I have yet to see anything resembling the scorched earth policy, concentration camps or anybody who looks remotely like Lord Kitchener, some would like to set this game up as a war.