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/ 4 February 2005
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has expressed shock and dismay at continuing assertions that condoms ”don’t work” as a means of preventing the spread of HIV. Secretary general Molefe Tsele said the SACC believes that all credible scientific studies conclude that the virus that causes Aids cannot pass through a latex condom.
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/ 4 February 2005
South Africa’s largest union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), and its counterpart, the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), have threatened demonstrations including blockades of all borders to Zimbabwe. This comes after the leaders of Cosatu and the ZCTU met on Thursday in South Africa.
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/ 4 February 2005
As Central African leaders meet in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, this weekend to discuss threats to the region’s vast forests, the size of the world’s ”second lung” keeps diminishing at an alarming speed. The WWF says that if the deforestation continues at the present pace, two-thirds of the forests may disappear in less than 50 years.
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/ 4 February 2005
South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, accused the European Union on Friday of keeping African farmers poor. He also questioned the moral leadership of the United States as he backed a British-led initiative to boost aid for Africa, for which plans are being discussed at Group of Seven talks in London.
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/ 4 February 2005
Political parties on Friday welcomed Deutsche Bank’s move to sell 25% of its South African operations to empowerment groups. African National Congress spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said the decision shows the bank believes local players can add value to the business.
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/ 4 February 2005
The student representative council (SRC) of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) on Friday condemned what it said are financial aid policies aimed at excluding poorer students. The SRC demands the immediate registration ”of all academically deserving students who need financial aid”.
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/ 4 February 2005
Western Areas, in partnership with Vancouver Placer Dome, on Friday commissioned the world’s deepest single drop shaft, South Deep, near Westonaria, 40km south-west of Johannesburg. The main shaft is the deepest in the world at 2Â 991,5m — nearly 3km. The shaft gives direct access to one of the world’s largest identified gold-ore reserves.
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/ 4 February 2005
Eleven children were seriously injured when a bus on its way to a local school overturned between Wartburg and Dalton on Friday, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
About 32 children were slightly injured and were taken to hospital for treatment. Approximately 10 children were unharmed.
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/ 4 February 2005
Security guards and reporters trailing French President Jacques Chirac on his first visit to Senegal in a decade fell prey to the army of pickpockets operating in the capital, Dakar, members of the press corps said on Thursday. At least two members of the presidential security detail were relieved of personal effects.
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/ 4 February 2005
The world’s first newspaper made of gold has been published in south China, selling for 69 000 yuan (about R51 000) a copy, state media reported on Thursday. The one-off publishing event was launched by the <i>China Economic Daily</i> in the boom city of Shenzhen, the Xinhua news agency said.