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/ 5 December 2005

Parliament bomb threat a hoax

A bomb threat, which caused Parliament to shut down on Monday afternoon, was a hoax, police said. Superintendent Vish Naidoo said the threats were made at about 1.50pm and Parliament was immediately evacuated. The disruption to Parliament was minimal as MPs were currently away in their constituencies.

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/ 5 December 2005

Leon: Women ‘most likely target of crime’

Women were the most likely target of contact crimes in South Africa, with one woman or child raped every 10 minutes, South African opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon said on Monday. As part of the 16 days of activism against women and child abuse, the DA hung up 22 486 pairs of girls’ underwear to represent the number of reported child rapes in 2004/05.

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/ 5 December 2005

HCI to own 46,5% of Johnnic

Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) has received valid acceptances representing about 6,7% of the shares in Johnnic Holdings (JNC) which will take its stakeholding in the gaming and entertainment group to about 46,5%. HCI said on Monday that valid acceptances in terms of its mandatory offer for Johnnic had been received for 11 082 782 Johnnic shares.

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/ 5 December 2005

Icasa to issue SNO licence on Friday

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) announced on Monday that it will issue a licence for a second fixed line telephone operator (SNO) on Friday. The SNO will provide competition for telecommunications giant Telkom (which, until now, has commanded a monopoly over the industry.

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/ 5 December 2005

DA calls for government action on child rape

The Democratic Alliance hung up thousands of pairs of children’s underwear in the Cape Town suburb of Nooitgedacht on Monday to draw attention to the rape of 22 486 children in South Africa last year. He said that 60% of all contact crimes in South Africa were committed against women, and on average one woman or child was raped every 10 minutes.

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/ 5 December 2005

Nigerian government journalists on strike

Nigeria’s state radio, television network and news agency were operating a skeleton service on Monday after thousands of journalists went on strike over unpaid allowances. ”We have decided on the strike because all government’s promises since 2003 to pay our allowances have been broken,” said a senior editor at the News Agency of Nigeria.

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/ 5 December 2005

Harold Pinter admitted to London hospital

Prominent British playwright Harold Pinter, winner of this year’s Nobel prize for literature, has been taken to a London hospital, his agent said on Monday. Pinter’s doctors have already forbidden the 75-year-old from travelling to Stockholm this week to attend a Nobel prize ceremony and banquet because of ill health.