Staff Reporter
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/ 20 July 2004

Former security cop ‘haunted’ by bombing

Eugene de Kock, the former Vlakplaas commander, testified on Monday that former security policeman Gideon Nieuwoudt showed malicious intent in detonating the Motherwell car bomb himself. De Kock was testifying at the TRC amnesty hearing of Nieuwoudt and two other former security policemen who are seeking amnesty for the Motherwell murders in 1989.

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/ 20 July 2004

SA Web calls still on hold

Voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) has been the subject of much discussion in the international press as services are rolled out in the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere. In South Africa, however, the debate has centred not on the numerous benefits that VOIP offers consumers but rather on why VOIP services are still being withheld by the government.

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/ 20 July 2004

Why ask for four wheels when two will do just fine?

Need a taxi in Togo? Climb aboard a Zemidjan, or "take me quickly", motorbike and get to your destination faster than you would do in a car. These small motorbikes, which take a single passenger on the pillion, are all the rage in this corner of West Africa. They also provide a regular source of income to thousands of people who would otherwise be jobless.

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/ 20 July 2004

Sitcoms Bomb

The finale of <i>Friends</i> may have drawn bigger spend than the Superbowl, but sitcoms are in a slump in the United States. Harry Herber returns from an extended trip with stories of the bizarre.

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/ 20 July 2004

World Bank must do or die

Picture an institution that invests about $55-billion a year in the world’s economy with the mandate of alleviating poverty. This is supposed to be the World Bank, which turns 60 next month. I won’t be sending a birthday card. World Bank money has left a legacy of environmental and social devastation, from cyanide spills in Peru to land expropriation and water pollution at oil pipelines.