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/ 23 September 2004
Week after week, a Durban Daily News reporter stole massive chunks of copy from a website in the United States and passed it off as his own. And the reporter, Keeran Sewsunker, who is probably South Africa’s worst serial plagiarist, is still at his desk. The American magazine is now threatening legal action.
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/ 23 September 2004
Victorious political parties reacted with glee on Thursday to 19 municipal by-elections held around the country the day before. In KwaZulu-Natal, the African National Congress was in a jubilant mood after gaining victories in three by-elections in rural areas, previously regarded as Inkatha Freedom Party strongholds.
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/ 23 September 2004
Several foreign mining companies working in Eritrea, ordered by the government on September 2 to close, are still waiting for explanations, Mines Director General Alem Kibreab said on Wednesday. ”We have told them to wait patiently and they have agreed,” Alem said from Asmara.
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/ 23 September 2004
A major hospital in Botswana is struggling to cope with the mounting pressure of staff and resource shortages, the HIV/Aids crisis and a high rate of road accidents. ”Sometimes we have 200% bed occupancy in the wards,” said Dr Howard Moffat, the hospital’s superintendent. The shortage of beds has resulted in patients sleeping on the floor.
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/ 23 September 2004
Panhandlers who fake disabilities to glean cash from kindly picnickers at the popular weekend getaway destination of Kien Svay, just outside the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, will have to outwit police and locals determined to end their charades. Last week, police said they rounded up five people faking disabilities.
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/ 23 September 2004
The South African Broadcasting Corporation was under investigation by a media commission on Thursday for airing footage of the beheading of a United States hostage in Iraq during its early-evening news programmes. "Everybody was shocked by the viewing," said Donna Mohamed of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=122740">We didn’t show it, says e.tv</a>
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/ 23 September 2004
South Korea launched a crackdown on Thursday on the sex industry as a new law targeting brothel owners, prostitutes and their clients went into force. About 3 000 policemen raided red-light districts in Seoul and other major cities, hauling in 138 violators, including sex workers, brothel owners and customers, the National Police Agency said.
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/ 23 September 2004
Cat Stevens, the British-born former pop star who has been denied entry to the United States on security grounds, said he was ”totally shocked” by the decision. He arrived in London Thursday. Stevens, whose heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s, told reporters: ”Half of me wants to smile, half of me wants to growl.”
‘Terrorist’ pop star barred from US
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/ 23 September 2004
The government supports the principle of there being a minimum of four large banks supervised by the South African Reserve Bank, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Thursday. Absa has announced that Sanlam’s share in the bank may be sold and has confirmed it is in talks with British bank Barclays plc.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Business&ao=122696">Absa stake may be for sale</a>
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/ 23 September 2004
Continuing violence in the Middle East is harmful not just to the people of the region but those outside it as well, United States First Lady Laura Bush said in comments published on Thursday in a rare interview with an Arabic newspaper. Meanwhile, several violent events were reported in the Middle East.