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/ 10 November 2006

Homework may not be good for kids

A small but increasingly vocal group of United States parents and educators is pushing for homework to be abolished for younger children on grounds that it serves no purpose. According to two new books on the subject, American children are being robbed of time to enjoy hobbies, sports and even family time because of too much homework.

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/ 10 November 2006

Every drop counts

It is predicted that by the end of the century, a barrel of water will cost more than a barrel of oil. In cities such as Dar es Salaam and Delhi, the taps often run dry and women spend hours every day looking for water to buy from tankers and vendors. In the rural areas this is often not an option, and available water must be harvested from rainfall or rivers without wasting a precious drop.

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/ 10 November 2006

‘Thank you America’

For six years, with the backing of both houses of a markedly conservative Republican Congress, George W Bush has led an American administration that has played an unprecedentedly negative and polarising role in the world’s affairs. On Tuesday, in the midterm United States congressional elections, American voters rebuffed Bush in spectacular style and with both instant and lasting political consequences.

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/ 10 November 2006

Red alert or green for go

China has become the new game in town for Africa. This is evident by the peaked interest in media reports and publications by international institutions such as the World Bank and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development commenting about the impact that the rise of China will have on African economies.

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/ 10 November 2006

Chávez takes off on a four-hour flight of rhetoric

On the podium is a map of the world, a map of Venezuela and a desk piled with charts, reports, books and pens: essential navigational tools for a tour through the mind of Hugo Chávez. The Venezuelan president is three weeks away from an election and has assembled Cabinet ministers, aides and journalists at the presidential palace, Miraflores, for a rhetorical journey.

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/ 9 November 2006

UKZN wins right for ARV trial on babies

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has won a high court application for the go-ahead of a clinical trial that will give an anti-retroviral drug to breastfeeding babies, marking another appearance in court for the n-word — nevirapine. The researchers, headed by Professor Jerry Coovadia, plan to give nevirapine or a placebo randomly to about 1 100 breastfeeding newborns for a six-month period.