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/ 28 September 2005

Four thousand children still missing in Uganda

At least 4 000 children who were among some of the tens of thousands abducted by the Ugandan rebels from the north of the country cannot be traced, a Ugandan human rights group said in a report obtained on Wednesday. The report by Uganda Human Rights Commmission also accuses government forces of torturing civilians in the war-ravaged region.

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/ 28 September 2005

For Egypt, a stark new dilemma at Gaza border

Armed with an automatic rifle, the Egyptian guard, Ahmed, took shelter from the scorching sun in the ruins of an old border crossing. Nearby, a Palestinian teenager from the Gaza side of this poor border town emerged from a bushy trail that stretches across the buffer of clumsy barbed wire fences and guard posts. Then the 14-year-old, Salama, sneaked across the porous frontier, hauling a plastic bag.

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/ 28 September 2005

Mystery surrounds Kebble murder

Financial website Moneyweb reported on Wednesday that murdered mining magnate Brett Kebble was in the wrong place at the wrong time and said it appeared that his death was the result of a failed car hijacking, and not an assassination. Earlier, reports quoted business partner Andile Nkuhlu as saying Kebble had been the victim of a callous, premeditated crime.

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/ 28 September 2005

Elusive giant squid caught on film at last

Japanese zoologists have made the first recording of a live giant squid, one of the strangest and most elusive creatures in the world. The size of a bus, with vast eyes and a querulous beak, <i>Architeuthis dux</i> has long nourished myth and literature, and until now, the only evidence of giant squids was extraordinarily rare.

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/ 28 September 2005

De Beers ups the ante

The row between the government and the world’s biggest diamond company, De Beers, intensified recently as the deadline for comment on controversial new legislation aimed at limiting the export of uncut gems expired. Jonathan Oppenheimer, MD of De Beers Consolidated Mines, told Reuters on Monday that the Diamonds Amendment Bill had ”potentially damaging” unintended consequences.

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/ 28 September 2005

Bronze tribute to gold miners

The old National Party stronghold of Krugersdorp is to be the site of a unique memorial site featuring a bronze statue of a mineworker and walls of remembrance for miners who died with their boots on. The statue, created by sculptor Adam Madebe and local artists, will be unveiled on Heritage Day, September 24, in recognition of miners’ contribution to South Africa’s economy.

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/ 28 September 2005

‘The toilet is the last taboo’

Participants at the World Toilet Summit, taking place this week in Northern Ireland, are shrugging off the sniggers to insist everyone must pay attention to the ”last taboo” of proper sanitation. ”We have been conditioned not to talk about it,” said Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation.