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/ 21 October 2005

Too soon to panic

As South Africa braces itself for the possibility of an outbreak of avian influenza, the department of health says there is no need to panic, and that there is no immediate danger. ”We share the sentiments of affected countries that we should take precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the flu,” says Solly Mabote, spokesperson for the Department of Health.

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/ 23 September 2005

Rage flares over typhoid ‘spin’

”Police had warned us not to go into Botleng and about 200m away we could see fires smouldering in the rock-strewn main road. In what we thought was a safe spot, we stopped opposite the school to check with a contact for directions. The next moment, three youths were at the sidewindow demanding to know what we wanted,” writes Yolandi Groenewald and Monako Dibetle.

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/ 23 September 2005

Lauded housing scheme collapses

Cope Housing Association, the Section 21 company that pioneered cooperative housing in South Africa, is set to close at the end of the month. Residents of the company’s seven cooperatives in the Johannesburg inner city fear eviction and blame the imminent closure on poor management and the negligent use of donor funds.

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/ 5 September 2005

Bargaining on toys

When human rights advocate Greg Moran opened the African Toyshop earlier this year, his aim was clear: to use the principles of fair trade to help African crafters make a decent living through their skills. Six months on and he is satisfied that the project is bearing the kinds of fruit he had in mind.

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/ 31 August 2005

Flu flap

The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs recently handed down tough new bio-security guidelines to commercial chicken and ostrich farming operations in a bid to head off an outbreak of bird flu in South Africa. Farmers have been advised to install electric fencing in chicken coops to prevent other birds, animals or humans from introducing the virus.

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/ 4 August 2000

DP thrown in at the deep end

Cordoning off almost 1,5-million township residents leaving only a few heavily policed exit/entry points has not happened since the apartheid years. Yet it was the first step taken by the Western Cape government this week after months of inaction over the simmering Cape transport conflict. The announcement of the 24-hour shutdown was made within days […]