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/ 1 December 2005

Public internet access slows, report shows

Growth in internet access among the South African public has slowed to a crawl, with the dial-up market experiencing no growth in subscribers for the first time since the industry was launched in 1993. This is one of the findings of the World Wide Worx’s annual study of the South African internet access industry.

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/ 1 December 2005

Parliament ordered to allow gay marriage

It is unconstitutional to prevent gay people from enjoying the legal benefits of marriage, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday. It gave Parliament one year to rework laws allowing same-sex unions. If Parliament does not do this in one year, the Marriage Act will be rewritten to include the words ”or spouse” to allow these unions to take place.

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/ 1 December 2005

New Bangkok mall to offer gay shopping

A new shopping mall scheduled to open in Bangkok next year will feature a ”Gay Avenue” manned by retail outlets owned by gay people, news reports said on Thursday. ”Gay Avenue”, billed as the country’s first ”gay shopping zone”, will take up 2 400 square metres of retail space in the Tawana Centre Park.

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/ 1 December 2005

Court injunction could mean end to BlackBerry in US

The maker of the BlackBerry handheld computer, Research in Motion, moved closer to a potentially devastating court injunction in the United States market on Wednesday after a judge denied its request to end a patent-violation lawsuit. In the US, more than two million people use the BlackBerry for wireless e-mail and other functions.

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/ 1 December 2005

How many really died in the tsunami?

One year later, officials still aren’t exactly sure how many people died in the Indian Ocean tsunami, but a tally of conservative government figures puts the number of dead and missing at more than 216 000 in 11 countries. In Indonesia and Sri Lanka, different agencies within the same governments disagree about the numbers.

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/ 1 December 2005

Pyongyang says US launched 210 spy missions

The United States launched 210 spy missions against North Korea in November using high-altitude reconnaissance planes, Pyongyang’s official media said on Thursday. Five rounds of talks involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have been held in an effort to resolve the nuclear stand-off.

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/ 1 December 2005

Close field in Nedbank challenge

Predicting the winner of this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge is about as tough as actually playing the par-72 Gary Player layout. ”The whole field is very close and all of the guys have proven themselves,” says three-time champion Ernie Els. Retief Goosen tops the bookmakers’ boards at 3-1, with Els on offer at 4-1.

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/ 1 December 2005

First-timer hopes to win golf challenge

Only four first-timers have ever won the Nedbank Golf Challenge at their first attempt and the last time that was achieved was in 1986 by Mark McNulty. There are three newcomers this year — Argentinian Angel Cabrera, American Stewart Cink and Englishman Luke Donald — and it is the latter who believes he can break the mould this year.