Staff Reporter
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/ 27 November 2007

Mozambique formally takes control of Cahora Bassa

Mozambique on Tuesday formally took over from Portugal the control of Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam, Africa’s second most important after that of Aswan in Egypt. ”The control of the dam signifies for us the elimination of the last vestiges of European colonialism in Africa,” Mozambican President Armando Guebuza said before a crowd of 10 000 people.

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/ 27 November 2007

Cosatu: NPA must not be used to bring down Zuma

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) must not be used to bring down Jacob Zuma ahead of the African National Congress conference to elect its next president, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Tuesday. Zuma, the current ANC deputy president, is the frontrunner to become the party’s next president.

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/ 27 November 2007

Robot with soft hands chats, serves meal

A pearly white robot that looks a little like ET boosted a man out of bed, chatted and helped prepare his breakfast with its deft hands in Tokyo on Tuesday, in a further sign robots are becoming more like their human inventors. Twendy-One, named as a 21st-century edition of a previous robot, Wendy, has soft hands and fingers that gently grip.

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/ 27 November 2007

Accused’s illness delays nuclear trial

The trial of the Swiss design engineer Daniel Geiges, who was allegedly part of an international nuclear smuggling ring, was postponed on Tuesday because he was too ill to stand trial. The Pretoria High Court was earlier told that Geiges (69) had been diagnosed with cancer of the rectum and was undergoing ”severe treatment”.

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/ 27 November 2007

Three Moroccans try to reach Spain on surfboard

Three would-be immigrants from Morocco tried to row across the Strait of Gibraltar on a surfboard in rough seas before they were picked up by a passing ferry, a Spanish newspaper said on Tuesday. The ferry was 20 minutes out of the Moroccan port of Tangiers on November 20, according to a passenger, Miguel Marin, quoted by <i>El Mundo</i> newspaper.

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/ 27 November 2007

Gauteng economy on the up, says provincial minister

Progress was being made in strengthening Gauteng’s economy but unemployment was still a concern, Gauteng minister of finance Paul Mashatile said on Tuesday. ”[W]hen we report back to the people of Gauteng [in 2009] we will be able to say boldly and without fear of contradiction that we have successfully completed our five-year mandate,” he said.