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/ 9 February 2006

SA biodiesel plant may triple soyabean demand

The mooted biodiesel plant that is to be the subject of a pre-feasibility study by South African petrochemicals group Sasol and the Central Energy Fund (CEF), could almost triple soyabean demand in South Africa. Sasol and the CEF said the plant would require more than 500 000 tonnes of soya beans to produce 100 000 tonnes of biodiesel per annum.

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/ 9 February 2006

Olympic countdown as Torch enters Turin

After 64 days of travel, the Olympic torch has finally arrived in Turin to begin the countdown to Friday night’s lavish opening ceremony extravaganza for the 20th Winter Olympic Games when the cauldron will be lit. Over 10 000 torch-bearers have borne the torch on its 11 300 km odyssey from the lighting of the flame at Olympia in Greece.

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/ 9 February 2006

‘With freedom comes responsibility’

The sound of Muslims singing praises reverberated in Cape Town on Thursday, as an estimated 30 000 people marched in protest and called for a boycott of Danish products. It was the first mass South African response as worldwide condemnation of Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad gathered momentum.

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/ 9 February 2006

Suicide bombing, clashes kill 31 in Pakistan

A suspected suicide attack tore into Shi’ite Muslims in Pakistan on Thursday as they celebrated the holiest day in their calendar, sparking riots and leaving at least 31 people dead and 50 wounded, officials said. Soldiers rushed to the northwestern town of Hangu after angry Shi’ites torched shops and cars following the attack on devotees marking Ashura.

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/ 9 February 2006

Zim’s Chamber of Mines warns of gold depletion

Zimbabwe’s gold reserves are fast depleting and pushing hundreds of miners out of business, the Chamber of Mines said in a letter to the government obtained by Agence France-Presse on Thursday. "With more than two million operators out there, surface gold is fast running out," saids Jack Murehwa, president of the mining association.

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/ 9 February 2006

Two Madonnas upset Poland’s Catholics

Poland’s Roman Catholics expressed outrage on Thursday after a magazine published a picture of the much-revered icon of the Black Madonna with pop icon Madonna’s face transposed on to it. Ultra-Catholic daily newspaper Nasz Dziennik slammed the photo as ”another act of profanation of sacred symbols”.

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/ 9 February 2006

Japan, North Korea talks end in stalemate

Japan and North Korea ended five days of talks in Beijing on Wednesday unable to make progress on normalising relations, with sharp differences remaining over kidnappings, security and wartime history. Japan insisted throughout the talks that no progress would be made unless the issue of North Korea’s abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s was addressed.