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/ 4 November 2005
MOVIE OF THE WEEK: Oliver Hirschbiegel’s film has been criticised for ”humanising” Hitler. Downfall does precisely this — and makes him seem far more grotesque and sulphurous than any picturesque newsreel documentaries, writes Peter Bradshaw.
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/ 4 November 2005
Thirty years ago, the idea that Abba might be worthy not just of serious consideration, but of a nine-CD, two-DVD box set collecting their every studio recording and video, would have been both bizarre and hilarious, writes Alexis Petridis, ahead of the realease of Abba: The Complete Studio Recordings.
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/ 4 November 2005
Abaqulusi municipality in Vryheid was dissolved on Thursday and its 15 Inkatha Freedom Party councillors fired — a move the IFP said it will fight in court. The party condemns the dissolution by KwaZulu-Natal local government minister Mike Mabuyakhulu and the axing of its councillors, IFP spokesperson Musa Zondi said.
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/ 4 November 2005
United States punk-rock trio Green Day and British act Coldplay shared top honours at the MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday, picking up two prizes each in an event broadcast from the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, to millions worldwide. South Africa’s Zamajobe, who was nominated for best African act, left empty-handed.
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/ 4 November 2005
A top United Nations Aids envoy this week said poorer nations are doing better than South Africa in the fight against Aids, and accused Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang of preventing him from working in the country with more HIV/Aids sufferers than any other in the world. ”Only the most energetic, uncompromising political leadership can turn this thing around,” he said.
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/ 4 November 2005
The American ambassador to Harare has blamed the Zimbabwean government’s ”short-sighted” and misguided ”voodoo” economic policies and corruption for the current crises in the Southern African country. ”Neither drought nor sanctions are the root of Zimbabwe’s decline,” Christopher Dell said.
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/ 4 November 2005
Twenty of 40 KwaZulu-Natal civil servants charged with defrauding the social-grant system made their first court appearances at the Durban Commercial Court this week. The 40, mostly from Durban, were arrested in a nationwide campaign that clamped down on thousands of civil servants illegally collecting social grants.
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/ 4 November 2005
Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton have fired a legal broadside against Beijing’s Silk Market, the reputed flagship of trademark piracy in China, according to local media. The five luxury European brands have taken the unusual step of joining forces to file a lawsuit against the sprawling shopping emporium.
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/ 4 November 2005
Reading through some magazines in the dentist’s waiting room the other day, I suddenly realised what is lacking in the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>. What this newspaper needs is something to set off its level of formidably prescient and relevant journalism, something to mollify its incisive comment.
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/ 4 November 2005
Syria is facing its greatest challenge for more than 20 years, a crisis that may bring down the Damascus regime — yet the ultimate dilemma for the country as a whole is that, at a time when the regime’s survival is threatened, there is no credible opposition ready to take power.