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/ 21 October 2005

Too many guns, too little food in Somalia

With too many weapons, too little food and three factions vying for control, Somalia’s anarchy is fast overwhelming its new government even before it can establish itself in the country. The competition for power could combine with a potential humanitarian crisis for a repeat of the disaster that followed the collapse of Somalia’s last regime in 1991.

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/ 21 October 2005

Burnt baby elephant put down

A baby elephant was euthanised in Hammanskraal on Thursday when its organs failed almost a month after it was severely burnt in a wildfire at the Pilanesberg National Park in September. The elephant was the fourth put down because of the severity of its injuries. Two burnt elephants died shortly after being taken to the trauma centre.

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/ 21 October 2005

Musharraf blasts ‘inadequate’ aid

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said the amount of foreign reconstruction aid promised after the devastating South Asian quake is ”totally inadequate”. Musharraf was quoted by the British Broadcasting Corporation as saying that Pakistan needed about -billion in disaster aid but the international community had pledged only around -million.

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/ 21 October 2005

Oil prices slide below $60 a barrel

World oil prices dropped on Friday, reaching three-month low points in New York on easing supply concerns, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, fell by 25 cents to $59,77 per barrel in electronic deals. It earlier reached $59,65, the lowest level since July 28.

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/ 21 October 2005

Britain’s rudest city revealed

Don’t expect a helping hand in the central English city of Birmingham — residents there are the rudest people in Britain, a survey claimed on Friday. "Brummies", as they are locally known, are the least likely to pass a series of courtesy tests such as holding the door for someone behind them.

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/ 21 October 2005

How Rasputin the Rat astounded scientists

For nearly five months, he led his pursuers a merry dance, swimming nearly half a kilometre across open sea to a new home, laughing at the traps and the poisoned baits and the baying hounds bent on killing him. When the annals of rodentology are written — as they surely must — this rat deserves an honoured place.

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/ 21 October 2005

Thousands attend Obote state funeral

Thousands of government officials, diplomats, supporters and relatives gathered on Friday for the state funeral of Milton Obote, whose presidency was a brutal chapter in Uganda’s troubled history. The state funeral was held a day after current President Yoweri Museveni laid a wreath on the casket of his former foe.

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/ 21 October 2005

Retailers question Cosatu picket plan

Retailers Pick ‘n Pay and Woolworths have come out against the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (Cosatu) planned pickets, part of Cosatu’s campaign against casualising, retrenchments and foreign goods. ”It seems that Cosatu does not have the facts about Pick ‘n Pay correct,” Pick ‘n Pay personnel director Frans van der Walt said.