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/ 16 February 2005

Lost generation feared in Ivorian school chaos

It looks deceptively as if Côte d’Ivoire is at peace again. Many schools have reopened in the rebel-run north and noisy groups of children wearing black and white or gingham check uniforms kick up the dust on their way to class in the morning. But after two and a half years of armed confrontation, the war is far from over. And despite appearances, the schools are not running normally.

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/ 15 February 2005

New crisis looms in DRC

A new humanitarian crisis is brewing in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where about 56 000 people have fled armed groups, out for lucrative mineral resources, that are murdering, raping and burning crops, a United Nations observer in the region said.

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/ 15 February 2005

Do safer births require a break with tradition?

If Kenya is to reach the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters in the next decade, officials may have to call a halt to the work of traditional birth attendants. The risks of allowing them to ply their trade unhindered, says Kenya’s Department of Health, are simply too great.

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/ 15 February 2005

‘McLibel’ trial: UK violated activists’ rights

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday condemned the United Kingdom for violating the rights of two activists convicted of libelling United States fast food chain McDonald’s, ending a 15-year legal battle. The decision marked a victory for campaigners Helen Steel and Dave Morris, who were found guilty in the so-called ”McLibel” trial.

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/ 15 February 2005

Tony Leon: ‘I told you so’

Speaking on Tuesday in the debate on President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation speech delivered on Friday, official opposition Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon mentioned ”many examples of DA warnings that have proved correct”, regarding labour, Zimbabwe, Aids and anti-retrovirals, and the racial transformation of the public service.

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/ 15 February 2005

Stars come out for SA restaurants

”Hey waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!” These are words the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa hopes not to hear again. The country’s restaurant sector now has its first-ever grading system specifically designed for the industry. The grading is voluntary, and intends to assure quality in the food and beverage sector.

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/ 15 February 2005

North Korea lacks technology to deliver nukes

South Korean intelligence officials said on Tuesday that while North Korea may have manufactured nuclear bombs as claimed, it lacked the technology to deliver them by missile. The state intelligence service, however, said the communist state might still be capable of striking targets by placing the bombs on aircraft.