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/ 21 November 2006

Irish brickies win praise for Cape housing project

A community of shack dwellers in the dusty Cape Town township of Mfuleni gathered on Monday to thank a group of Irish volunteers building brick homes to replace their corrugated iron ones. A group of around 350 volunteers are in Africa’s southernmost city this week to help build 50 houses in Mfuleni as part of a larger project to build 720 houses.

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/ 21 November 2006

Altered cottonseed could feed millions

Scientists have found a way to use the cotton plant, long a source of fibre for clothing but inedible by humans, to feed potentially half a billion people a year. Plant biotechnologist Keerti Rathore and colleagues reported on Monday they have genetically altered the plant to reduce the levels of the toxic chemical gossypol.

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/ 21 November 2006

A fresh look at our watchdogs

How far can Parliament go in recommending changes in the structure and functioning of Chapter 9 and related institutions? At most it could suggest constitutional amendments to change appointment procedures and areas of responsibility, and perhaps even the continued existence of some bodies.

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/ 21 November 2006

No further arrests for Kebble murder

No further arrests have been made in connection with the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, police said on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said she could not say whether there had been any new developments in the case since the arrest last week of Glenn Agliotti.

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/ 21 November 2006

Ethiopia, Eritrea reject border proposal

Ethiopia and Eritrea on Monday rejected a proposal put forward by an independent boundary commission as a way around a four-year impasse over the demarcation of their shared border. The Horn of Africa neighbors fought a war from 1998 to 2000 over a frontier area of dusty villages and scrubby plains during which 70 000 people were killed.

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/ 21 November 2006

Japanese company markets do-it-yourself cars

Japanese auto buffs with a passion for classic European designs will get to be builder, mechanic and driver with new do-it-yourself cars unveiled on Tuesday. The miniature car requires the owner to put together all the parts of the car, from the steering wheel to the brakes, with the help of a set of tools and an instruction manual.

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/ 21 November 2006

A sub with snorkels — and cocaine worth $89m

The three snorkels broke the surface of the ocean, tiny specks far off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and at a steady clip skimmed towards the United States. Six feet beneath the waves throbbed a vessel like no other, a 15m-long wood and fibreglass submarine carrying a fortune in cocaine and a crew with a mission improbable.