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/ 29 May 2008

Obama expects to clinch nomination next week

Senator Barack Obama said on Wednesday he expected to become the Democratic United States presidential nominee after next week and he is considering an overseas trip that may include Iraq. After a hard-fought primary season against rival Democrat Hillary Clinton, Obama said the general election race will begin in earnest next week.

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/ 5 May 2008

Brown seeks to quell revolt after elections

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is looking to make popular concessions in a bid to win back support for his beleaguered Labour government after its drubbing in last week’s local elections. Labour ministers and backbenchers continued to voice support for the prime minister despite the worst local election results for the party in 40 years.

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/ 3 May 2008

The missing finger that never was

Traditionally on May Day the fool plays at pratfalls and buffoonery around local morris dancers, brandishing his fool’s bauble, an inflated pig’s bladder on a stick, with which he bewitches and controls the crowds. To the uninitiated it looks like chaos, but for his own safety the fool must know the dances as well as anyone.

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/ 24 April 2008

Kempton Park CBD without power until Sunday

Areas in and around the Kempton Park CBD will be without power until Sunday, the Ekurhuleni municipality said on Thursday, following a fire at a substation in Spartan on Monday. The crisis has left one resident dead and residential and business areas without electricity. Meanwhile, South Africans will be free of scheduled power cuts next week, Eskom said on Thursday.

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/ 23 April 2008

Media bodies rap Zim over crackdown

Media bodies in Zimbabwe on Wednesday deplored a government crackdown on journalists and warned the safety of reporters was under threat in the aftermath of disputed elections. ”The security and safety of journalists is under serious threat in this country,” said Takura Zhangazha, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa.

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/ 22 April 2008

Man arrested for robbing sperm bank

Police in India have arrested a man for stealing more than 100 sperm samples from a laboratory in the western state of Maharashtra, a news report said on Tuesday. Police told the Times of India daily that Anil Punjaba Mohite had stolen 101 sperm samples from Cryobank, a sperm bank in central Aurangabad city, last week.

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/ 21 April 2008

ANCYL head slams ‘despicable behaviour’

Newly elected African National Congress Youth League (ANC) head Julius Malema used his first letter as president to chastise those who showed ”unbecoming conduct” at the league’s conference in Bloemfontein recently. ”Thugs and hooligans who believe they can hold the organisation to ransom … will be dealt with,” said Malema on Monday.

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/ 19 April 2008

Texan offers $100m for England T20 series

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford has offered to put up -million for England to play five Twenty20 games against his West Indies All-Star team. England and Wales Cricket Board chairperson Giles Clarke had said on Thursday the prospect of England taking part in a winner-takes-all -million match in the West Indies was ”very likely”.

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/ 10 April 2008

Microsoft to unveil traffic-jam beater

Microsoft plans on Thursday to unveil a web-based service for driving directions that uses sophisticated software to help its users avoid traffic jams, the New York Times reported. The software technology system, called Clearflow, will provide drivers with alternative information for routes that takes into account prevailing traffic patterns.

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/ 2 April 2008

Defiant Mosley alleges plot against him

Max Mosley, president of world motorsport’s governing body (FIA), claimed on Tuesday that he had been the victim of a covert surveillance operation orchestrated by unknown enemies of his so as to force him to resign his post. However, the 67-year-old son of pre-World War II British fascist leader Oswald Mosley insisted that he would not step down.

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/ 2 April 2008

Police foil primary school plot to attack teacher

The plot was meticulously prepared. The group was armed with a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape, and a glass paperweight, and members had been assigned specific roles including standing guard and cleaning up after the attack. What shocked police officers as they moved in, acting on a tip-off, was the nature of the would-be attackers and their chosen victim.

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/ 1 April 2008

Gunners count on fear factor to sink Liverpool

Arsenal will be hoping the fear factor outweighs Liverpool’s vast European experience when the two sides cross swords in an all-English Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday. Rafael Benitez has guided his side to two out of the last three finals of Europe’s elite competition, but he will also be aware that, on the domestic front, Arsenal have had the edge.

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/ 31 March 2008

Motorsport boss under pressure over sex video

Max Mosley, president of motorsports’ governing body FIA, is under pressure after a British tabloid reported on Sunday that he engaged in sex acts with prostitutes that involved Nazi role- playing. The News of the World reported that Mosley (67) paid five sex workers £2 500 in cash and then engaged in an orgy that lasted almost five hours.

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/ 27 March 2008

Cops investigate dancer’s murder

Pretoria police investigating the murder of Pretoria dancer Estee van Rensburg asked the public on Thursday to help them find the silver Toyota Tazz that was stolen from her home. The 19-year-old ballet dancer was found dead in her home when her domestic worker reported for work on Wednesday morning.

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/ 9 March 2008

Proposed march against crime gains momentum

A proposed million-person march against crime is gaining momentum, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Saturday. Actor and singer Desmond Dube called on all South Africans to join the march scheduled for the middle of April in Johannesburg. Dube said South Africans have had enough of crime.

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/ 5 March 2008

India hail ‘triumph against all Oz’

Indian media on Wednesday rewarded the cricket team’s conquest of world champions Australia with front page banner headlines, celebrating a victorious end to an acrimonious tour. ”Triumph against all Oz” screamed the mass-selling Hindustan Times a day after the young Indian team completed a 2-0 whitewash of Australia.