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/ 28 September 2005
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
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 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
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.
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/ 28 September 2005
British Prime Minister Tony Blair let it be known on Tuesday that he will not pull out of Iraq soon, or rush to pass the reins of power to his finance minister and heir apparent Gordon Brown. He delivered what aides called a "policy-rich" speech to the Labour Party’s annual conference.
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/ 28 September 2005
Author M Scott Peck, who wrote the bestseller The Road Less Traveled and other self-help books, has died. He was 69. Peck died on Sunday at his home in Connecticut, long-time friend and Los Angeles publicist Michael Levine said. He had suffered from pancreatic and liver-duct cancer.
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/ 28 September 2005
Many corrupt police officials believe nothing serious will happen to them if they are caught — and police corruption often goes unchecked because it is not reported. Almost half of police disciplinary hearings in 2003/04 resulted in no action against accused officers, giving rise to the perception that "absolutely nothing" will happen to corrupt officers.
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/ 28 September 2005
The oil industry may be underestimating to its own peril the potential of renewable energy in the decades to come, the World Petroleum Congress in Johannesburg heard on Wednesday. The president of the Worldwatch Institute, Christopher Flavin, said the perception that ”real energy men don’t do renewables” is changing.
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/ 28 September 2005
Steve Marcus, a jazz saxophonist who recorded and toured with Stan Kenton, Herbie Mann and Buddy Rich, has died. He was 66. Marcus died on Sunday in his sleep at his home in New Hope, family members said. He was a pioneer of the jazz fusion movement of the late 1960s, a musical movement that combined elements of rock ‘n’ roll and jazz.
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/ 28 September 2005
On the day Benedict Vilakazi’s rape accuser laid a charge against him, his wife SMSed the girl pretending to be the soccer star, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday. The girl earlier in the week told the court that if Vilakazi’s wife had not found out about the rape, the secret would have died with her.