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/ 10 January 2005

Librarians baulk at pictures of nude judges

Library officials in two southern Mississippi counties have banned Jon Stewart’s best-selling America (The Book) over the satirical textbook’s nude depictions of the nine United States Supreme Court justices. ”We’re not an adult bookstore,” said Robert Willits, director of the Jackson-George Regional Library System.

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/ 10 January 2005

China’s 1,3-billionth child won’t sell out

The family of a newborn baby who last week became the poster child for China’s one-child policy has turned down a number of lucrative advertising contracts for diapers and milk formula, state media said on Monday. Zhang Yichi was declared China’s 1,3-billionth citizen when he was born to a huge media blitz in a Beijing hospital on Thursday.

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/ 10 January 2005

Cambodian authorities see red over brothels

Cambodian authorities have taken a strong step towards making the red-light district of the northern tourist town of Siem Reap more anonymous — by literally banning red lights, a police official said on Monday. The action was taken a few days ago as part of a concerted crackdown on thriving prostitution in the town.

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/ 10 January 2005

DRC security forces quell protesters

Security forces deployed on Monday on the streets of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) capital to quell demonstrators who burned tires to protest a recent government announcement delaying upcoming elections nationwide. Residents and students set tyres ablaze in several poor, crowded neighbourhoods near Kinshasa’s airport.

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/ 10 January 2005

Dollar recovery pressures rand

The dollar recovery in the first week of 2005 has put pressure on the rand, which weakened to R6,1448 per dollar on January 6 from the 2004 best level of R5,5850 per dollar reached on December 29. After reaching a record worst level of $1,3668 per euro on December 30, the dollar strengthened to a best level of $1,3027 per euro on January 7.

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/ 10 January 2005

Harris distributor wins R41m US contract

Local Harris distributor IDXOnline has announced that Harris Corporation has been selected by the United States Defence Information Systems Agency for a three-year, $7-million (R41,6-million) task order as part of the Multinational Information Sharing Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity programme.

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/ 10 January 2005

SA takes delivery of the good ship Sarah Baartman

The South African government has received its first-ever environmental protection vessel, marked by an official handover ceremony on Monday. Accepting the new R113-million ($19m) vessel, named the <i>Sarah Baartman</i>, the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, said that at no point had South Africa been better equipped to protect its marine resources.

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/ 10 January 2005

JSE mixed in quiet trade

The JSE Securities Exchange was a mixed bag at midday on Monday after a quiet morning’s trade. Banks were a feature on the upside on renewed talk of foreign interest in the sector. By 12.07pm, the all share index was up a marginal 0,1%. The banks index jumped 1,61%, helping financials to firm 0,7%.

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/ 10 January 2005

‘It has been very, very, very busy’

Indonesia’s Banda Aceh airport has been transformed into the hectic hub of one of the world’s biggest aid operations to date, but is struggling to cope with the sudden transformation. Meanwhile, internet scam artists are using the tsunami disaster to trick people into revealing private financial information to bogus aid sites.

  • SA Red Cross gives R4m
  • Attack puts aid workers on alert
  • The ordinary has ended for ever
  • Thousands wait for aid in Indonesia
  • Tsunami disaster special report