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A martial arts enthusiast pulls a vehicle with a rope connected to his eye sockets during a performance in Hefei, Anhui province November 30, 2009. Picture taken November 30, 2009. REUTERS/China Daily

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    Dying to get cheaper as Malta ends hearse cartel

    VALLETTA
    Tue Jul 8, 2008 10:45am EDT
    Hearses carrying the bodies of six Canadian soldiers travel on highway 401 east of Coburg, Ontario July 8, 2007. REUTERS/Fred Thornhill

    VALLETTA (Reuters) - The cost of living is rising in Malta, but the cost of dying may be about to drop.

    Oddly Enough

    The Maltese Transport Ministry announced on Monday that the government had decided to liberalize the granting of licenses for hearses. No licenses have been issued for 36 years, leaving only 11 owners of hearses and, in the ministry's words, "creating the conditions for a cartel."

    "The people have been denied freedom of choice and the benefits of competition" the ministry said.

    (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
    Oddly Enough


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