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/ 27 November 2006

The Lord and the lycra

And there I stood: eyes downcast, in all my crimson shame. As my eyes welled with the pools of my disgrace, and the tips of my (well-covered) ears burned, I felt myself transported to the cobbled streets of … Salem, Massachussets — and I could almost get a whiff of the smoke as the tinders licked at my (hosed) feet. My crime was read out: guilty of immodest dress unbefitting a woman of The Faith.

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/ 27 November 2006

Chad increases its defences

With humanitarian groups sounding the alarm about the violence in eastern Chad near Sudan, the Chadian government has sent troops south to neighbouring Central African Republic to battle rebels there who, it said, are being backed by Sudan. Chad is already contributing troops to a regional peacekeeping force in CAR but the prime minister said last week that he wants to send more.

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/ 27 November 2006

A coup for democracy

Africa is full of bad stories that started well and good stories that started badly. Mauritania is developing into one of the latter. Voters waited patiently and peacefully in long lines to cast their ballots in the country’s parliamentary and provincial elections, recently. They look set to do so again in presidential elections that are scheduled for March, ending military rule and completing the process of bringing democracy to this arid, sparsely populated country in north-west Africa.

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/ 26 November 2006

Lions looking good despite premature end

The four-day Supersport Series match pitting the Lions against the Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg remained balanced in favour of the Lions, who had 266 runs to the good, after three days on Saturday, with four wickets standing. The two sides battled it out in weather that ranged from reasonably bright to rain showers.