Staff Reporter
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/ 30 November 2007

Israel court backs Gaza fuel cuts

Israel’s top court has upheld a government decision to reduce the Gaza Strip’s fuel imports, but postponed planned electricity cuts to the Hamas-ruled territory, Israeli officials said on Friday. Israel began reducing the amount of fuel oil, diesel and petrol allowed into Gaza last month as part of economic sanctions.

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/ 30 November 2007

Zille: Aids ‘a crisis of enormous proportions’

The Aids crisis, already one of enormous proportions, is forecast to get even bigger, says Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille. ”Though a slight decline was experienced this year, analysts still predict South Africa’s HIV infection rate to increase from its current 10% to 18% by 2025,” she warned in her weekly online newsletter, SA Today, on Friday.

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/ 30 November 2007

Acsa launches crime-busting weekend

Fifteen people were arrested during a crime-fighting operation at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on Friday, said the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa). ”Fifteen people have so far been arrested and 10 vehicles have been impounded,” said Acsa spokesperson Tasniem Patel.

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/ 30 November 2007

Putin suspends Russian adherence to arms treaty

President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law Russia’s suspension of a Cold War treaty limiting military forces in Europe as a senior lawmaker warned that other international accords could be reviewed. The signing came on the final day of campaigning ahead of parliamentary elections on Sunday in which Putin has accused the West of trying to weaken Russia.

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/ 30 November 2007

Mafia boss arrested while watching Mafia TV show

Italian police burst into the room of a suspected Mafia mobster in Sicily and arrested him as he watched a television show about the arrest of a Mafia boss, investigators said on Friday. Police said Michele Catalano was watching the concluding chapter late on Thursday of the TV mini-series The Boss of Bosses when he was detained.

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/ 30 November 2007

Lucky Dube murder accused appear in court

Four men accused of the murder of South African reggae star Lucky Dube appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. The accused face charges of murder, attempted hijacking and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

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/ 30 November 2007

Govt works to improve reading skills of pupils

Schoolchildren in grade three and above are to be tested annually for the next three years to ensure their reading skills are up to par, the Department of Education said on Friday. Education Minister Naledi Pandor would gazette a three-year ”foundation for learning strategy … that will involve annual testing”, the department said.