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/ 16 January 2005

A time of crisis for new Palestine leader

Mahmoud Abbas’s first hours in office were marked by a series of crises — from the resignation of 46 election officials who accused the ruling Fatah party of pressure to renewed violence that could threaten his leadership. Abbas was sworn in on Saturday as the new Palestinian leader while violence raged in the Gaza Strip.

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/ 16 January 2005

Cape works to shelter homeless after fire

Temporary shelter and relieve was being arranged on Saturday night for about 8 000 people left homeless after a fire razed about 1 500 shelters in the Joe Slovo informal settlement and parts of Langa. An unnamed infant perished in Saturday’s fire and several people were injured in the conflagration.

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/ 16 January 2005

Driven to despair, Paris heads for gridlock

To a tamer motorist, the haze of exhaust fumes rising amid a chorus of klaxons on the junction of Rue de Varenne and Rue Bourgogne would denote impossible gridlock. But plumber Manu Mota always finds a way. ”There are plenty of places to park. It’s just that they are not legal,” announces the 57-year-old plumber.

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/ 16 January 2005

Tsunami wrecked children’s minds

In tsunami relief camps from Indonesia to Sri Lanka, aid workers are confronting a new and terrible reality: that the children of the tsunami are a psychologically blighted generation. In Indonesia alone, about 35 000 children — largely in Aceh province — have lost one of two of their parents.

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/ 16 January 2005

Mandela family united by grief

Nelson Mandela’s grandson followed the former president’s example on Saturday by telling thousands of mourners at his father’s funeral that his mother had also died of Aids last year. Mandla Mandela was speaking at the funeral of his father, Makgatho (54), Nelson’s last surviving son.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=178012">Hundreds support Mandela at funeral</a>

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/ 16 January 2005

Abu Ghraib abuse firms are rewarded

Two United States defence contractors being sued over allegations of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison have been awarded valuable new contracts by the Pentagon, despite demands that they should be barred from any new government work. Three employees of CACI International and Titan were separately accused of abusive behaviour.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=178000">US soldier guilty of jail abuse</a>

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/ 16 January 2005

Peterhansel in sight of Dakar victory

France’s Stephane Peterhansel was in sight of his second successive Dakar Rally triumph on Saturday after safely negotiating the 15th and penultimate stage of the gruelling 2005 event. South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers, driving a Nissan, clinched the stage, a 225km special from Tambacounda.