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/ 22 January 2007

Outsurance is the new Volvo

There is a famous case about an elderly woman needing medical help who phoned not the ambulance service, nor the local hospital, nor her doctor. She phoned her car company, Volvo. When I have catastrophes associated with my car, I reach for my AA card. The recent downpour brought more than a deluge of water. It brought car thieves who used the cover of rain to try and steal my car, writes Kevin Davie.

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/ 21 January 2007

ANC gets to work on 2007 plan of action

The national executive committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) came together for the second day of its annual lekgotla (meeting) in Kempton Park on Saturday, the party said. All eyes will be on the ruling party in the year ahead as its new leadership will be elected at its 52nd national conference in December.

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/ 19 January 2007

Sundance opens with call to speak out against war

The Sundance Film Festival opened on Thursday night with an innovative movie harkening back to Vietnam anti-war protests and a call by Robert Redford for an apology by United States leaders. Redford said in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks he, like many others, showed a ”spirit of unity” with President George Bush and others who backed the war on terrorism.

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/ 18 January 2007

UN calls on Somalia not to waste chance for peace

The top United Nations envoy to Somalia, making his first visit since a war last month, said on Thursday the Horn of Africa nation now had its best chance to end 16 years of anarchy and bloodshed. Francois Lonseny Fall made a swift visit to Mogadishu two weeks after Ethiopian and Somali government troops swept aside Islamists who had run south Somalia for six months.

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/ 18 January 2007

The importance of being Sachin Tendulkar

Poor form has ended sporting careers or at least forced a relegation to the bench. In Sachin Tendulkar’s case, it has led to a promotion. Tendulkar (33) will be vice-captain to skipper Rahul Dravid for the one-day series against the West Indies amid speculation that he may even be named Indian captain after the World Cup.

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/ 16 January 2007

France’s 1956 bid to unite with Britain

If you’re reading this on a packed, stalled train, late for work, eating a stale station bacon roll, imagine what life could have been like. If France and Britain had gone ahead with an audacious plan in the 1950s to merge the two countries, the train might have been on time, and faster, the croissants better, but then again, with Paris’s current unemployment problem, there might not have been a job to go to.

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/ 16 January 2007

ANC hints at future role for Yengeni

The African National Congress (ANC) has noted the release on Monday of its former National Assembly chief whip from prison and says that it has "consistently held" that the law must take its course without fear or favour. The party also hinted that there could be a role for Tony Yengeni in what it terms the building of a non-racial society.