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/ 1 April 2005

Pope given last rites

Pope John Paul II has suffered septic shock and a heart attack, and his condition is "very serious", Vatican spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls said on Friday. "Following a urinary-tract infection, septic shock and a cardiocirculatory collapse occurred," Navarro-Valls said in a statement. The pope received the last rites on Thursday evening after suffering the heart attack.

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/ 1 April 2005

DRC alert over virus outbreak

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has set up a quarantine zone along the frontier with Angola in response to fears that a recent outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus could spread across the 1 750km border. Congolese Health Minister Emile Bongeli said: "Though there are no signs of any cases in the DRC, we live with the threat of another outbreak, so we are taking precautions."

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/ 1 April 2005

Rate cut window firmly shut

A chance of a rate cut by the South African Reserve Bank later this month was put out of reach by this week’s weakening of the rand, persistently high oil prices, a widening current account deficit and robust credit growth. On Thursday, the Reserve Bank reported that private sector credit extension in February grew by 17,01% compared to a year earlier, up from 15,22% in January.

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/ 1 April 2005

White, male, democrat, African

"I write this article as a white man. I write also as a South African and as a democrat. These are identities that are important to me and many other South Africans. They cut across race, gender and generation. They provide a basis for collective work and for bridge building. So why should white men be taken out of the category ‘South African’ and subjected to special treatment," asks Robert Morrell.

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/ 1 April 2005

‘Third killer quake on the way’

A third killer earthquake may be lurking beneath the Indian Ocean, seismologists say. Last Monday’s quake was caused by an increased geological stress set up by the giant earthquake in December, and they fear the process will repeat itself. Phil Cummins, a seismologist, said: "There is a chance that the next segment further to the south-east could rupture sooner than we expected. But we can’t predict the time."

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/ 1 April 2005

Donors ditch land NGO

South Africa’s largest land rights movement, the 20-year-old National Land Committee (NLC), has been brought to its knees by ideological infighting, financial mismanagement and an exodus of member organisations. The crisis, which was set to be debated at an emergency board meeting on Thursday, has already frightened off the foreign donors who funded the NLC’s umbrella structure since its inception.

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/ 1 April 2005

Crime and corruption flourish amid political crisis

Moussa Tanoh used to import two shipments of new car parts in to Côte d’Ivoire every month but in 2004, he only managed two all year as a protracted political crisis deepened economic woes. "Nobody buys new anymore," said Tanoh, as he hauled himself up off the floor of his Mercedes spare parts shop. "Everybody goes to the black market and buys used or stolen car parts."

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/ 1 April 2005

Parties reject Mutharika appointment

President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi was thrown his first curve ball in Parliament last Wednesday since his dramatic defection from the United Democratic Front, on whose ticket he ascended to the country’s top job in May last year. His appointment of the first woman inspector-general of police, Mary Nangwale, was rejected by Parliament.