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/ 24 August 2007

Sudan expels EU and Canadian envoys

Sudan has expelled the European Union and Canadian envoys from the war-torn African country, state radio and Western officials said on Thursday. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry had declared them persona non grata ”for involving themselves in activities that constitute an interference in the internal affairs of the country,” Sudan radio reported.

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/ 24 August 2007

Opposition sweeps Sierra Leone election

Sierra Leone’s main opposition All People’s Congress swept aside the ruling party in this month’s landmark elections, winning a majority of seats in the new Parliament, officials said on Thursday. The APC won 59 of the 112 seats on offer in the August 11 vote, leaving the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party with just 43 seats, down from 83 in the previous assembly.

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/ 24 August 2007

Playtime’s over

With the latest recall of millions of unsafe toys by the world’s biggest toy company, Mattel, a stark truth has come home to roost for the $60-billion global toy industry: you cannot have dirt-cheap production thousands of kilometres away from home in China without incurring huge risk. It is a truth that could cost the industry dearly, not just in immediate costs.

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/ 24 August 2007

Telkom out-Vox’d

Imagine a telephone company that pays you money to receive calls — sound like pie in the sky? Well then you haven’t heard about Vox Telecom, the new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) tele­phone services, which offer a real, cut-price alternative to Telkom’s fixed-line offering.

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/ 24 August 2007

Will you save money? Yes

I have been using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) — or more specifically voice over broadband — services for a long time and the usual culprits on my list are the free messenger programs, such as Skype, MSN Messenger or Google Talk. These are available online for free and they provide a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, writes Rudolph Muller.

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/ 24 August 2007

A body that bites

We have bemoaned the weakening of Parliament over the years due to the loss of skilled personnel and their replacement by what we called B-grade politicians. It is therefore appropriate that when work such as the comprehensive review of the Chapter Nine bodies and other state-supporting institutions is performed by parliamentarians, they equally deserve our plaudits.

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/ 24 August 2007

Is she fit for office?

The Sunday Times legal team plans to counter legal action by the health minister on the grounds that her right to privacy is overridden by the public’s right to know whether she is competent to exercise her duties. At the core of the newspaper’s defence is debate over whether she is fit to hold office in the Cabinet.

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/ 24 August 2007

Sporadic bush war wearies CAR’s forgotten rebels

Bertin Wafio sits in a village clearing sipping tea from a flask, his teenage bodyguards self-consciously examining their ancient rifles and wearily scanning the horizon. ”We have been in the bush for two years now, fighting to bring peace and security to our country,” said Wafio, one of the leaders of Central African Republic’s Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy.