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/ 10 November 2007

Writer Norman Mailer dies in New York

Norman Mailer, the pugnacious two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner who was a dominating presence on the United States literary scene across seven decades, died on Saturday of kidney failure, his family said. He was 84. In more than 40 books and a torrent of essays, Mailer provoked and enraged readers with his strident views on US political life and the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.

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/ 10 November 2007

Nationwide Boeings grounded temporarily

Nationwide airline’s Boeing 737-200s were temporarily grounded on Saturday, pending engine inspections, said the Civil Aviation Authority. This action comes after a Nationwide Boeing 737 carrying 106 passengers had to make an emergency landing in Cape Town on Wednesday after an engine fell off during take-off.

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/ 10 November 2007

How White was caught in crossfire

Jake White was caught in the South African rugby crossfire during a bitter and ongoing power struggle of which he was the latest high-profile victim, the Saturday Star said on Saturday. This has emerged in his much-anticipated autobiography, In Black and White, which hits bookstores soon.

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/ 10 November 2007

Serial underwear caller jailed in UK

A man who posed as a clothing researcher to call women and harass them with questions about their underwear was jailed for two-and-a-half years on Friday. Paul Kavanagh (40) admitted to making about 15 000 calls over a 12-year period, beginning with innocuous questions about socks and cardigans.

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/ 10 November 2007

Burmese junta ‘putting energy into reform’

Detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi received rare front-page billing on Saturday in Burma’s state-controlled press, which said the ruling junta is ”putting energy” into democratic reforms demanded by the international community. Suu Kyi was allowed to meet leaders of her opposition party on Friday.

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/ 10 November 2007

DRC official arrested over radioactive waste

A government official in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suspected of ordering up to 17 tonnes of radioactive waste dumped in a river in the south-east of the country has been arrested, authorities said on Friday. Environment Minister Didace Pembe declined to identify the person who was arrested.

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/ 10 November 2007

Death toll mounts in Mogadishu

Ethiopian troops shelled suspected Islamist hideouts on Friday in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where some of the worst clashes in months have left at least 43 dead in two days, many of them civilians. The escalating violence came as the Ethiopian army tried to flush out pockets of insurgents in southern districts of the Somali capital.

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/ 10 November 2007

Doubts abound over Guinea leader’s capabilities

The enthusiasm that came with the storming to office of Guinea’s latest prime minister has waned and there are doubts over his capability to lift the country out of misery, a global think tank said on Friday. Lansana Kouyate, an ex-United Nations diplomat, was early this year named Prime Minister by ailing President Lansana Conte.