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/ 10 February 2005

Thousands of children go to war

When Napoleon Adok was 16 years old he saw his best friend blown to bits next to him. That was when he decided he had had enough of being a soldier. But he was not allowed to leave. Deserters were put in front of a firing squad, no matter how young they were. Napoleon was one of hundreds of thousands of child soldiers in Africa and the rest of the world. His story is not unique.

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/ 9 February 2005

Idasa goes to court over party donations

The case between the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) and four political parties being heard in court on Thursday seeks to make public the records of donations in excess of R50 000 to these parties. Idasa wants the parties to disclose their private donors, the amount involved and conditions under which the donation was made.

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/ 9 February 2005

Uri Geller to prove his powers

Spoon-bending entertainer Uri Geller was set to appear before the august Oxford Union debating society on Wednesday to prove he really is a psychic, the union has announced. Geller (58) has offered to fix, under the watchful eye of a special camera, any broken watches that members of the union may have.

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/ 9 February 2005

You can’t take it with you … can you?

Stealing toiletries and even bathrobes from hotels is one thing, but a British couple have taken pilfering to new heights after liking their hotel shower so much they took it home with them. After they checked out of the room, staff found the entire shower unit had been taken from the en suite bathroom.

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/ 9 February 2005

US media want end to secrecy in Jackson case

News organisations covering the Michael Jackson trial are seeking an end to the secrecy surrounding key aspects of the case, including the grand-jury indictment describing the pop singer’s alleged crimes. A lawyer for The Associated Press and other news outlets will ask California’s Second District Court of Appeal to lift the gag order on attorneys in the case.

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/ 9 February 2005

Pik Botha free of cancer after operation

Pik Botha (72), long-time minister of foreign affairs in the apartheid government, is free of further cancer, preliminary tests have shown. Unitas hospital spokesperson Karin Lindeque confirmed this on Wednesday afternoon after speaking to his surgeon, Heinrich Schwalb.”Since he heard the news, his spirits are soaring,” Botha’s wife said.

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/ 9 February 2005

Sasol declares safety ‘a top priority’

After a number of accidents at its operational plants, dual-listed fuel and chemicals group Sasol on Wednesday declared safety "a top priority" for 2005. Sasol CEO Pieter Cox addressed the media in Johannesburg, saying that there is no greater priority in the company than safety. He added that the group has a zero-tolerance approach to unsafe behaviour.

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/ 9 February 2005

Five-year-old girl raped, murdered in Limpopo

A five-year-old old girl was raped, murdered and her body tossed into a donga outside Matengteng, Bushbuckridge, in the Limpopo province. Police spokesperson Superintendent Moatshe Ngoepe said the child went missing on February 7 after being taken from her mother, who was visiting friends, by a neighbour who promised to drop her off at home.