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/ 2 February 2005

Google profits surge sevenfold

Google’s fourth-quarter profit surged to a sevenfold increase, accelerating the financial gains that have quickly turned the online search engine leader into a Wall Street favourite. The Mountain View-based company said on Tuesday that it earned ,1-million or 71 cents per share, during the final three months of 2004.

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/ 2 February 2005

Top job for Nick Mallett

Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett had been appointed Western Province’s (WP) director of rugby, the president of the WP Rugby Football Union, Koos Basson, announced on Tuesday. The newly created position forms part of the strategic vision for WP rugby. Mallett has been appointed on a contract basis for three years.

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/ 2 February 2005

Fifa launches first Beach Soccer World Cup

Fifa is launching its first-ever Beach Soccer World Cup this year, world football’s governing body said Tuesday. Twelve countries are expected to compete in the competition, which is likely to take place in Brazil later this year. A new Fifa subsidiary is being set up in Barcelona, Spain, to work alongside the existing beach-soccer federation.

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/ 2 February 2005

Mugabe sets date for Zim election

Parliamentary elections will be held across Zimbabwe on March 31, President Robert Mugabe has announced amid fears the polling could be as violent and flawed as the last vote. In the 2000 parliamentary elections, the opposition came close to toppling Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, despite electoral rules seen as biased in the ruling party’s favour.

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/ 2 February 2005

Mystery caller offered soccer bribe

A Bundesliga player on Tuesday said that he was offered a €15 000 bribe by a mystery caller if his team won a match during the 2003 season. The revelation made by Ranisav Jovanovic is the latest twist in the match-fixing scandal that has rocked German football as it prepares to host the 2006 World Cup.

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/ 2 February 2005

Huge blow to Arsenal

Manchester United produced one of the performances of the season to beat Arsenal 4-2 at the champions’ Highbury ground in London on Tuesday after twice coming from a goal behind and so put a massive dent in their rivals’ title challenge. Defeat left the Gunners 10 points behind Chelsea ahead of their London rivals’ match away to Blackburn on Wednesday.

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/ 2 February 2005

Blair and Brown cannot afford to fail

Both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown have taken a big political risk in setting an ambitious programme on Africa — and will certainly struggle to disguise any failure to make progress in 2005. Most governments that hold the presidency of the Group of Eight nations opt for relatively small targets, in order to claim victory.