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/ 1 February 2008
The death toll from a cyclone that hit Madagascar on Sunday has risen to 12 people from two and 5 000 others are in need of aid, a senior relief official said on Friday. Cyclone Fame struck the giant Indian Ocean island’s west coast over the weekend but has since moved away.
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/ 1 February 2008
Russians visiting a health resort received a rude shock when a nurse used hydrogen peroxide instead of water to give them enemas. Itar-Tass news agency reported Thursday that 17 tourists in the Caucasus spa town of Yessentuki had to be treated in hospital after the mix-up.
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/ 1 February 2008
A host of defamation claims lodged by the African National Congress president Jacob Zuma against several publications were on Friday slashed to ”approximately R12-million”, a spokesperson for Zuma said. Liesl Göttert said: ”Mr Jacob Zuma will instruct his media legal team to drop the defamation component of all media claims that he instituted against some media.”
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/ 1 February 2008
Value-Added Tax (VAT) registration would be easier from this month, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Friday. Sars said the new VAT-registration process reduced the paperwork required for registration and provided for the instant issuing of VAT registration numbers over the counter at Sars branches.
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/ 1 February 2008
West Virginia is considering a Bill to teach schoolchildren how to handle a gun and hunt safely. Its proponent hopes this will increase state revenues from hunting licences, a state lawmaker said on Thursday. "We will teach a hunting safety course during their physical education class," state Senator and Bill sponsor Billy Wayne Bailey said.
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/ 1 February 2008
A drunk driver on Friday admitted killing a South African rugby fan who was heading home in London after celebrating his team beating England in the World Cup final. Jimmy Kateende (28), from New Malden in south-west London, admitted causing the death of Hugh Morton by driving without due care and attention while under the influence of alcohol.
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/ 1 February 2008
As long as the government’s priority remains affirmative action instead of quality education, delivery problems such as the current electricity crisis will be unavoidable, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Friday. Zille said the many delivery challenges faced by South Africa could only be resolved if the country’s education system improved.
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/ 1 February 2008
The aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Friday it was pulling all its international staff out of Somalia after three of its staff were killed by a roadside bomb. For the time being ”MSF has suspended all international staff presence”, the medical humanitarian organisation said in a statement released in Nairobi.
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/ 1 February 2008
Church leaders expressed shock and outrage on Friday at a police raid this week on the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, during which hundreds of immigrants were arrested. Eddie Makue, general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, said for many years the Church had welcomed those who had been displaced.
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/ 1 February 2008
South Africa batsman Boeta Dippenaar has announced his retirement from international cricket to pursue other interests. Dippenaar, who made his debut in 1999, played in 38 Tests and 107 one-day internationals and will continue playing for the Diamond Eagles and Leicestershire in England.