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/ 20 June 2007

Riding high

Katlego Mafokate is the only black face among a multitude of white girls. This does not seem to bother her as the confident 18-year-old nudges her horse into a gentle trot. Katlego, a grade 12 learner at the prestigious Beaulieu College in Buccleuch North, Johannesburg, is getting ready to participate in a show-jumping competition in Sunvalley, near Kyalami in Midrand.

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/ 19 June 2007

World has changed in the UN’s favour

My experience, each morning, may not be unlike yours. We pick up our newspapers or turn on the TV — in New York, Lagos or Jakarta — and peruse a daily digest of human suffering. Lebanon. Darfur. Somalia. Of course, as secretary general of the United Nations, I at least am in a position to try to do something about these tragedies. And I do, every day, writes Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.

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/ 19 June 2007

Religious leaders cast doubt on Virgin Mary claims

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) on Tuesday said it doubted claims by an East Rand teenager that she had repeatedly seen the Virgin Mary. ”I doubt it very much … We know that people in desperate situations search for answers from God. The God that we know reveals himself in a meaningful manner,” said SACC general secretary Eddie Makue.

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/ 19 June 2007

Missile attack kills militants in Pakistan

A missile attack killed at least 17 pro-Taliban militants and wounded 10 in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border on Tuesday, according to independent television news channels. The blast occurred at a militant training camp near Datta Khel district, about 60km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

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/ 19 June 2007

Air travellers relieved of shampoo, toothpaste

More than 6,8 metric tonnes of liquids, aerosols and gels (lags) have so far been seized under new airport safety measures, the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said on Tuesday. It said when the new regulations came into effect on June 1, about 500 litres of lags a day were seized at the three international airports — OR Tambo, Durban and Cape Town.

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/ 19 June 2007

Minister: Women must benefit from land claims

Women should benefit from the settlement of land claims, Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana said on Tuesday. Handing over commercial land valued at R1-billion to four communities in Mpumalanga, she said it was crucial that women were not marginalised. ”Women must benefit significantly from the economic benefits that follow with this claim,” she said.