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/ 17 July 2007

UN: $20m needed to help feed Somalia

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called for a donation of ,5-million on Tuesday to safeguard war-weary Somalis from an expected crop failure. ”The people of Somalia have been hit by drought and floods last year and now insecurity and new displacements,” said Peter Goossens, WFP’s Somalia country director.

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/ 17 July 2007

Vodacom seeks second interdict, says union

Vodacom is going to court again, this time to prevent striking workers from violence and damaging property, the Communication Workers’ Union said on Tuesday. Vodacom lodged an application for the second interdict last week and the matter would be heard on Wednesday, said CWU spokesperson Mfanafuthi Sithebe.

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/ 17 July 2007

Hairy situation for SA men

Most South African women prefer their men hairless, at least when it comes to body hair, according to a survey released on Tuesday by Dutch shaving product manufacturer Royal Philips Electronics. The Philips Bodygroom Survey also found over half of the men who had taken part ”admitted to attempting to trim, shave or wax” their body hair.

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/ 17 July 2007

Govt rejects DA call for Zim refugee camps

The Department of Home Affairs on Tuesday rejected the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) call for the government to set up refugee camps for Zimbabweans fleeing their country. Cleo Mosana, spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, accused the official opposition party of exploiting the Zimbabwean situation for publicity.

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/ 17 July 2007

Ethiopia mulls opposition pardon bid

The Ethiopian government is looking into pardon requests filed by dozens of opposition members whose heavy jail terms drew a barrage of international criticism, a senior official said on Tuesday. ”The government received the request for pardon by the detainees almost three weeks ago,” Bereket Simon said.

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/ 17 July 2007

Vlok trial ‘must not be seen as a witch-hunt’

The National Prosecution Authority’s decision to prosecute apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok must not be seen as a witch-hunt, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Tuesday. Vlok, former police chief Johann van der Merwe and three former high-ranking police officers will appear in court for attempted murder next month.

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/ 17 July 2007

Zimbabwe to intensify crackdown

Zimbabwe is set to intensify its pricing blitz after leaders of the ruling party declared the crackdown had so far yielded impressive results, state media reported on Tuesday. Nathan Shamuyarira, Zanu-PF’s secretary for information and publicity, said a meeting of the party’s politburo on Monday had decided to extend the three-week old operation.

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/ 17 July 2007

Libya may release convicted medics

Libya is finalising a deal that would pay the families of 426 children with HIV millions of dollars and pave the way for the release of six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting them, a source said on Tuesday. The source, close to the delicate negotiations under way in Libya, said an agreement could be announced on Tuesday evening.

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/ 17 July 2007

Birthday gifts roll in for Madiba

Former British prime minister Tony Blair is one of hundreds of well-wishers across the globe who have sent gifts to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela for his 89th birthday on Wednesday. ”We have received a deluge of gifts and messages,” said Boniswa Qabaka-Nyeti, a spokesperson at the flagship Nelson Mandela Foundation.

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/ 17 July 2007

Petroleum-sector strike averted … for now

A possible strike in the petroleum sector has been temporarily averted after employers made a provisional offer of 8% to trade unions, it was announced on Tuesday. Negotiations in the chemical bargaining council on Monday saw trade unions reduced their demand to 9%, while employers increased their original offer from 7% to 7,5%.