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/ 15 December 2004
One Ethiopian child in 10 is an orphan, according to a report by the United Nations, the government and the Save the Children NGO.
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/ 15 December 2004
Portugal, the nation with the highest HIV/Aids infection rate in Europe, is facing a surge in infections among a previously little affected group — those over 50. The number of people in this demographic registered as being infected with the virus which causes Aids rose from 819 at the end of 1999 to 1 402 at the end of last year, a 71% jump, health ministry figures show.
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/ 15 December 2004
Tens of thousands of penguin chicks could starve to death in the Antarctic over the next few weeks because the southern continents biggest iceberg is cutting off their parents from the sea and customary food supplies, according to New Zealand scientists.
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/ 15 December 2004
Turkey will not accept entry to the European Union on any conditions, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in a newspaper interview published on the eve of a key EU decision on the issue. ”We will not say yes at any price. We have told the EU that,” Gul told the Milliyet daily, in comments published on Wednesday.
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/ 15 December 2004
South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth should trend about 4% for the next few years as employment growth finally completes a virtuous circle. In May last year, South Africa entered its longest "upward economic phase", as the previous longest upward phase lasted from September 1961 to April 1965.
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/ 15 December 2004
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was forging ahead in noon trade on Wednesday as the market positioned itself ahead of the afternoon’s futures close-out. A weaker rand added impetus to the bourse’s ascent. "The market is very strong ahead of the close-out," a dealer said.
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/ 15 December 2004
Fighting between the regular army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and armed men resumed early on Wednesday near the eastern town of Kanyabayonga, an AFP journalist reported, while United Nations officials in the capital, Kinshasa, reported an attempted incursion from neighbouring Rwanda.
UN investigates new DRC unrest
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/ 15 December 2004
Collective bargaining will pose a great challenge in 2005 for the Department of Labour, especially for marginalised small businesses, which are being crushed by big business, according to the Minister Membathisi Mdladlana. He said that there was a problem in the bargaining process because decisions on salaries and wages were taken without the participation of certain groups.
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/ 15 December 2004
Hollywood movie studios on Tuesday sued scores of operators of United States- and European-based computer servers that help relay digitised movie files across online file-sharing networks. The copyright infringement suits expand on a new US film industry initiative whose initial targets were individual file-swappers.
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/ 15 December 2004
After festooning his house with 17Â 000 Christmas lights, Alex Komarnitsky wanted more than just passers-by to enjoy the spectacle. He got his holiday wish.
His interactive website, which allows internet users to turn the lights on and off with the click of a mouse, is attracting thousands. "It’s out of control," Komarnitsky said.