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/ 12 February 2008

Dissolve Parliament and start over, says DA

Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader Sandra Botha tabled a notice of motion in the National Assembly on Tuesday calling for Parliament to be dissolved. Speaking during debate on President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation address, she said in order to tackle the challenges currently facing South Africa, it is necessary to start from a clean slate.

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/ 12 February 2008

Nqakula: Scorpions to be dissolved

South Africa’s elite, FBI-style Scorpions anti-crime unit will be dissolved, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Tuesday. ”The Scorpions … will be dissolved and the organised crime unit of the police will be phased out and a new, amalgamated unit will be created,” Nqakula told Parliament in Cape Town.

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/ 12 February 2008

Danish police foil attack on Muhammad cartoonist

Danish police on Tuesday arrested several people suspected of planning to attack one of the cartoonists who drew controversial caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for Denmark’s biggest daily in 2005, police said. Intelligence agency PET ”conducted a police operation in the Aarhus region … to prevent a murder linked to terrorism”, PET chief Jakob Scharf said.

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/ 12 February 2008

Olmert certain Iran is secretly building nuclear arms

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday he was convinced that Iran was leading a secret operation to build nuclear weapons and urged a greater international effort to prevent Tehran from succeeding. ”We are certain that the Iranians are engaged in a serious … clandestine operation to build up a non-conventional capacity,” Olmert said.

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/ 12 February 2008

Sudan accused of burning Darfur towns

A major assault by the Sudanese army and allied militia has left two Darfur towns badly damaged by fire, sources close to a United Nations reconnaissance mission to the region said on Tuesday. The news came as the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed one of its staff members had been killed in the offensive.

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/ 12 February 2008

New price shocks for Zimbabwe

A shocking new range of price increases were announced on Tuesday as Zimbabwe’s world-record hyperinflation spun further out of control, with charges for cellphone calls soaring by nearly 1 700%. The official National Incomes and Prices Commission said international calls were up to Z,2-million from Z 400 per minute.

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/ 12 February 2008

What to expect of tax rates in budget

Billy Joubert, director of tax at Deloitte, said on Tuesday during a pre-budget seminar that no rate changes to personal income-tax rates are expected, while at best the corporate tax rate may be cut to 28% from the current 29%. Joubert noted that South Africa’s corporate tax rates compare favourably with other countries.