PRETORIA: South Africa remained at the ``dawning of the dawn'' in its pursuit of liberation and freedom from oppression and the dehumanising legacy of deprivation it inherited from its past, the country's newly inaugurated President Thabo Mbeki said in Pretoria on Wednesday. Mbeki took his oath of office at a lavish inauguration ceremony at the country's union buildings seat of government in Pretoria attended by some 4,500 invited guests including kings, presidents and dignitaries from 130 countries and 50,000 members of the public.

Man jumps off bus after call of `corpse'

BUENOS AIRES: An Argentine man sprang from the roof of a moving bus when the lid of a coffin tied to the roof rose and a voice within was heard to say, ``Rather cold, isn't it?'' The man broke various bones in the fall, and was expected to remain in hospital for at least two months in the Andean province of Santiago Del Estero, the Pagina 12 newspaper reported on Tuesday. It's commonpractice in the Andes for passengers to pay a little extra to be allowed to sit on the roof during a journey. But wind and a chill in the air had prompted one roof passenger to seek refuge inside the initially empty coffin. Eventually, he attempted to start a conversation with his startled roof companion, who had been unaware the coffin was occupied.