Staff Reporter
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/ 21 June 2004

‘Mild rebuke’ for Ngcuka

Parliament’s ad hoc committee, considering the Public Protector’s report on Deputy President Jacob Zuma’s complaint about National Prosecutions Authority head Bulelani Ngcuka, has agreed that Parliament should express its dissatisfaction with Ngcuka’s handling of the investigation and that he should get a ”mild rebuke”.

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/ 21 June 2004

Absa, Scottish bank in offshore alliance

Local banking group Absa and The Royal Bank of Scotland International have formed an alliance to open the offshore banking environment to Absa’s clients. The total number of affluent and high net worth individuals who would qualify for the offshore banking product is estimated to be approximately 0,9-million.

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/ 21 June 2004

Kenya to offer free medical services to the poor

The Kenyan government is to start offering free medical services to poor patients at small public hospitals across the country from next month, health officials said on Monday. ”Effective July 1, patients will not be required to pay for diagnosis and treatment, at public health centres and dispensaries only,” said James Nyikal, the national director of medical services.

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/ 21 June 2004

Zimbabwe police arrest 78 women at rally

Police arrested 78 women over the weekend when they tried to hold a protest to mark World Refugee Day and draw attention to the plight of Zimbabweans who they say are living like refugees, their lawyer said on Monday. The women, some of them bystanders, were arrested in Bulawayo on Saturday where activists from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza) were attempting to stage a demonstration.

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/ 21 June 2004

San take Botswana govt to court

The fate of one of southern Africa’s oldest nomadic tribes, the San, could be sealed when the Botswana High Court hears argument on the issue of ancestral land rights. The court case, which commences on July 5 with an in loco inspection, could decide the future of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen communities.

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/ 21 June 2004

Saudi security forces step up hunt for militants

Saudi security units renewed their house-to-house search for militants in Riyadh on Sunday as officials claimed significant progress in the battle against al-Qaeda. Four militants killed on Friday night included Abd al-Aziz al-Muqrin, who was regarded as the leading al-Qaeda figure in the kingdom, and his alleged deputy, Faisal al-Dakheel.

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/ 21 June 2004

White, male and deliriously happy

”White men are happy in the New SA.” Those banner headlines almost caused me to crash my car in semi-Black Consciousness fury. What was Mondli Makhanya’s Sunday Times trying to tell me? But I can’t afford to crash my car, no matter what the posters say, because, like those of most black men, my car is not insured. Ha, ha, ha, that was a joke. In fact it is a lie. I am insured.

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/ 21 June 2004

SA seeks Chinese investment

The South African government said on Monday it was aggressively seeking greater foreign investment from China despite fears that this may harm certain sectors within the economy. ”We want greater investment in South Africa,” said deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad.

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/ 21 June 2004

Eight soccer refs appear in Randburg court

Eight soccer referees and linesmen arrested in Operation Dribble appeared briefly before a Randburg magistrate in three separate hearings on Monday, following the police swoop against alleged match fixing. In the dock were Patrick Banda (31) Ishmael Fatyela (33) Justice Dywili (30) all from Kimberley, Reuben Kgatla (38) of Alexandra, Johannesburg, Jonas Mokonyane (37) of Mokopane and Kganagwe Michael Sikwe (36) of Soweto.