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/ 19 October 2004

Bird flu kills 23 tigers in Thailand

Twenty-three tigers have died and 30 more are sick from bird flu at a private zoo in Thailand after eating the carcasses of infected chickens, but health officials said on Tuesday that there is little threat to humans. Thai veterinarians are checking for the disease at chicken farms where the zoo got the birds that were fed to the tigers.

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/ 19 October 2004

Nature leads the way in vaccine breakthrough

A new science technique inspired by natural processes millions of years old could revolutionise public health care by allowing vaccines to be stored for years without refrigeration, British scientists announced on Tuesday. The technology would spell radical improvements in medical access to children in developing countries.

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/ 19 October 2004

Fisherman nets ancient Greek statue

A fisherman found a 2 400-year-old bronze statue in his net near the Aegean Sea island of Kythnos, the Culture Ministry said on Tuesday. The statue — missing a head, arm and leg — measures 1,43m and weighs nearly 70kg. Fisherman Costas Spyrakis handed the statue over to a mainland port authority.

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/ 19 October 2004

Boeremag trial: Mystery witness named

The fourth state witness in the Boeremag treason trial will not be able to maintain his anonymity after the judge refused an application to keep his identity a secret on Tuesday. Pretoria High Court Judge Eben Jordaan said the witness, Deon Crous, had not proved the existence of exceptional circumstances to warrant such an order, which would limit the freedom of the press.

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/ 19 October 2004

‘Severe punishment’ for family killers

The four convicted murderers of the Van der Merwe family, two of whom were also convicted of rape, were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Circuit High Court in Secunda, Mpumalanga, on Tuesday. The men were also sentenced for other crimes, amounting to 240 years’ imprisonment — but the sentences will run concurrently.