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/ 16 April 2006

Kenya’s imported dream tree becomes a nightmare

It is fast-growing, drought-resistant and sprawls over hectares of land in Kenya’s arid regions, providing fuel and furniture material for thousands of impoverished herders and farmers. But once hailed as a miracle cure for land degradation and desertification, the rapidly spreading prosopis tree has become an environmental menace that many wish had never been introduced to the East African nation.

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/ 16 April 2006

Soweto to get its first upmarket hotel

The Soweto township is soon to open its first luxury hotel as tourists in increasing numbers stream to the suburb, which was once the focal point in the fight against apartheid. The upmarket hotel is to rise in the historic heart of Kliptown as Soweto experiences a growing economic boom since the advent of democracy in 1994.

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/ 16 April 2006

Aid cut-off starts to bite in Gaza

An empty watchtower overlooks a deserted road lined with rusting vehicle parts. The only traffic is a pregnant bitch and a mule and cart. This is Gaza’s economic lifeline, the Karni crossing into Israel, which is supposed to handle 1 300 containers of merchandise and food per day in order to sustain 1,3-million people.

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/ 15 April 2006

Is it all piety in the sky?

These are hard times for those who question mainstream religion. We live in a world inflamed by the godly, from rabble-rousing Christian fundamentalists to Muslim fanatics. In the 1960s and 1970s, doubters may have run the show, but today the God squad rules. Only the foolhardy risk its wrath.

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/ 15 April 2006

SA on the ropes in first Test

A career-best performance by Kyle Mills saw South Africa in trouble on 266 for eight at close of play on the first day of the first Castle Lager Test against New Zealand at Supersport Park on Saturday. Graeme Smith won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch that appeared to offer something to the bowlers.

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/ 15 April 2006

Haas beats Roddick to reach semifinal

Fifth-seeded Tommy Haas dominated Andy Roddick on clay again, beating the number one seed a fourth straight time in a quarterfinal at the United States Men’s Clay Court Championship on Friday. Haas rallied from one set down to win 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4 in a matchup that Roddick said could have been the final. It was two years ago.

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/ 15 April 2006

Pope denounces ‘greedy liar’ Judas

Pope Benedict XVI is trying to combat efforts to rehabilitate Christianity’s most hated villain after the presentation this month of a newly discovered ”gospel according to Judas”. In his first Easter sermon at St Peter’s Basilica, the German pope said the 13th apostle was a greedy liar: ”He evaluated Jesus in terms of power and success. For him, only power and success were real. Love didn’t count.”

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/ 15 April 2006

Cheetahs pay price for missed tackles

All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter became the ninth player to reach 600 points in super rugby, surpassing 150 points for the season, as the Canterbury Crusaders beat South Africa’s Cheetahs 53-17 in a Super 14 match on Saturday. Carter scored two tries, kicked two penalties and converted six of the Crusaders’ seven tries to take 28 points from the match.

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/ 15 April 2006

British chocoholics shell out fortune on Easter eggs

Britons, Europe’s biggest chocoholics, were set to have a cracking good time over Easter by splashing out on about 80-million Easter eggs, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Good Friday. A total of £520-million (-million) was to be spent on chocolate over the four-day weekend as the BRC forecast that Britons were set to blow £2,8-billion in total on food and drink.