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/ 24 February 2005
It is unlikely that Laurie Frazer will again commit conspiracy to kidnap, the Supreme Court of Appeal heard on Thursday. The Bloemfontein court heard argument in the case of Frazer, who made headlines in 1997 for failed attempts to get custody of his adopted child and later for plotting to kidnap the baby.
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/ 24 February 2005
At least two police officers were killed on Thursday when heavily armed militants raided the administrative headquarters of Indian Kashmir, trapping about 250 civilians who were later freed by the security forces, officials said. A paramilitary officer said ”two or more” militants had sneaked into the fortified complex of government buildings.
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/ 24 February 2005
South African President Thabo Mbeki called on the European Union on Thursday to do more to help African countries fight poverty, stressing that hunger remains a ”serious problem” for the continent. Mbeki, in Athens on a two-day official visit, said hunger, poverty and underdevelopment are the central challenges facing his country and the rest of Africa.
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/ 24 February 2005
Embattled Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia finally won approval for his Cabinet on Thursday as MPs overwhelmingly endorsed his radically overhauled line-up, which is dominated by technocrats. After he was twice forced to redraw his plans, 54 members of the legislative council voted in favour of the list.
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/ 24 February 2005
Workers in Zimbabwe are beaten, maimed and in some cases even castrated, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willie Madisha said at this year’s Solidarity trade union congress on Thursday. He said there is a ”very serious problem” with the Zanu-PF ruling party calling itself a ”party of liberation” when workers are killed and beaten.
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/ 24 February 2005
Russian prosecutors on Wednesday charged a Chechen with the murder of United States journalist Paul Klebnikov, shot dead outside his Moscow offices in July last year. Klebnikov (41) was the high-profile editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, which revealed the obscure, extravagant and sometimes criminal world of the country’s most wealthy businessmen.
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/ 24 February 2005
Captured Iraqi insurgents who claim to have beheaded dozens of hostages were shown on television on Wednesday saying that they practised on chickens and sheep before moving on to people. Speaking with little sign of remorse, the men said they were told they would be made princes after 10 beheadings.
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/ 24 February 2005
Two British soldiers were on Wednesday convicted of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in a case that has seriously undermined the standing of the British army and been dubbed the country’s Abu Ghraib. Another pleaded guilty and a fourth was sentenced last month.
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/ 24 February 2005
Attorneys for lion murder accused Mark Scott-Crossley may have to go into the witness box to explain whether they acted for his co-accused knowing there was a conflict of interest. Allegations against the attorneys, made earlier in the trial, also remain unchallenged, Judge George Maluleke said in the Phalaborwa High Court on Thursday.
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/ 24 February 2005
Chalk another one up for the bloggers. Less than a month after claiming that United Statates forces had deliberately targeted and killed journalists during the war in Iraq, CNN’s chief news executive, Eason Jordan, resigned. A typical media story, except his comments were not reported by the mainstream media, but on a weblog, an online diary.