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/ 22 February 2005

Blair and Bush in show of unity

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, today paid tribute to George Bush’s leadership in the Middle East, saying there was a real prospect of peace in the region. Speaking in Brussels after breakfast talks with the US president, Blair said there was a ”renewed sense of vigour and optimism”.

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/ 22 February 2005

Gauteng a safer place, says MEC

Effective policing and social crime prevention programmes are making Gauteng a safer place, but there is still a lot to be done, said Community Safety MEC Firoz Cachalia on Monday. ”Levels of crime are still too high so we cannot announce victory yet,” he said at the media briefing in Johannesburg.

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/ 22 February 2005

Rugby refs ‘always stay neutral’

Retired top South African referee Andre Watson has lauded the Sanzar executive committee on its decision to scrap the requirement to appoint franchise-neutral referees for local derbies in the Vodacom Rugby Super 12 contest. Sanzar said the decision comes into effect this week when the competition kicks off in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

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/ 22 February 2005

Egyptian doctors operate on two-headed baby

Egyptian doctors have successfully operated on a two-headed baby, removing the second head and neck to leave a normal baby girl after the successful operation, surgeons said on Saturday. "The operation lasted 15 hours and it was a complete success," said hospital director Nazif Hefnawi, in the delta governorate of Banha.

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/ 22 February 2005

Chinese kids ask for more Harry Potter

It was billed as a chance for British Minister of Finance Gordon Brown to quiz China’s young elite about what they want from the future. And he got his answer — more Harry Potter memorabilia. In a lengthy question-and-answer session, Brown, currently on a three-day visit to China, chatted to about a dozen teenage pupils, all star English students.

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/ 22 February 2005

The rise and fall of Jonathan Moyo

As Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo made his reputation as the architect of the government’s campaign to silence criticism, and still had time to get his own jingles aired on state television. Moyo was fired over the weekend, but he has left a legacy of laws that effectively deny government critics a means of disseminating information.

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/ 22 February 2005

Uganda peace talks to continue beyond ceasefire

Peace talks between Ugandan authorities and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army will go on beyond the end this week of a unilateral government ceasefire, officials said on Tuesday. However, as the talks continue, Kampala will press ahead with military operations against the rebels, whose ranks the government maintains have been decimated.