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/ 22 February 2006

Larger trade areas boost Truworths sales

Listed South African fashion retailer Truworths International has reported a 33% increase in its fully diluted headline earnings per share for the 26 weeks to the end of December 2005, to 90,4 cents from 68 cents in the year-earlier period. The company declared an interim dividend of 44 cents per share.

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/ 22 February 2006

SA tax man eyes desktop Linux

The South African Revenue Service has issued a tender for a proof of concept Linux desktop solution for the tax-collecting government department with a R355-billion revenue. A successful proof of concept could see 14 000 desktops running Windows migrated to Linux.

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/ 22 February 2006

Exiled Aristide vows to return to Haiti

Haitian leader Jean Bertrand Aristide, who is living in exile in South Africa, on Wednesday defended his decision to return home, saying it is his right as a citizen of the Caribbean nation. ”I have the right to be back,” he said in an interview with international news agencies in Pretoria.

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/ 22 February 2006

Moratorium ‘won’t scare off investors’

Arguments that a moratorium on foreign land ownership will scare off investors are ”ideological and hysterical”, the chairperson of the panel of experts that recommended the moratorium said on Wednesday. He said the panel’s recommendation is important and informed by previous policy initiatives.

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/ 22 February 2006

Ethics, morality dominate socially conscious Oscars

Oscar has developed a social conscience this year, with weighty real-life themes, ranging from ethics in big business and media to racial tensions, dominating the movies vying for the big prizes. ”All of these films reflect the concerns that the filmmakers have for our society,” said Marty Grove, columnist for the Hollywood Reporter.

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/ 22 February 2006

Glitches bedevil FBI’s new computer system

The FBI’s latest attempt to modernise its computers is running behind schedule and its budget already has exceeded the cost of the last failed effort. FBI Director Robert Mueller and other officials have refused to disclose the anticipated cost of the Sentinel program, which will not be fully in place until 2009.

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/ 22 February 2006

Weaker rand boosts JSE

The JSE was firmer in noon trade on Wednesday, with a weaker currency boosting heavyweight rand hedge stocks. Good corporate results released before the opening further helped sentiment. By 12.07pm, the all-share and all-share industrial indices added 1,44% and 1,26% respectively.