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/ 22 December 2004
A Japanese man kept his 21-year-old girlfriend confined in handcuffs for 11 days in his apartment because he worried she may date other men, police said on Wednesday. Police said he told investigators: ”I was afraid that she may date other men if I left her by herself.”
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/ 22 December 2004
The Department of Health will strengthen efforts to educate consumers and alert them of ”dubious” weight-loss products, the department announced on Wednesday. ”Weight-loss products are of special concern to the department in that to date … there is no existing policy framework for regulation,” a departmental spokesperson said.
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/ 22 December 2004
A poor man in eastern India who fed a flame of hay for more than five decades to mark the 1947 independence of India from the British died in his thatched hut on Tuesday, relatives said. Paduram Mahanta (83) was cremated by one of his sons in their village, Dipila Kamargaon, 75km from Guwahati, the main city of Assam state.
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/ 22 December 2004
The corruption trial of former Central African president Ange Felix Patasse was postponed indefintely on Wednesday at the request of prosecutors. Patasse, in exile in Togo, is charged along with four co-defendants — all of them close aides during his presidency — with stealing 70-billion CFA francs (about R803-million) in public funds.
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/ 22 December 2004
The French press said on Wednesday that the release of journalists Christian Chesnot and George Malbrunot after four months of captivity in Iraq is surrounded by mystery and murky politics. But the sense of joy and relief that swept the country on the news of the release was reflected in bold headlines — ”Free!” and ”At last!”.
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/ 22 December 2004
The Democratic Alliance on Wednesday called the asset forfeiture unit’s reported intention to confiscate vehicles of drivers caught travelling at 30kph over the speed limit ”disproportionate”. ”The possibly unintended consequences of such confiscations should not punish innocent people, the DA said in a statement.
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/ 22 December 2004
Year-on-year consumer inflation less mortgage costs (CPIX) rose to 4,6% last month from 4,2% in October, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on Wednesday. The headline inflation rate for November — the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the historical metropolitan area — was 3,7%.
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/ 22 December 2004
A team of international scientists has found new fish and insect species, including a monster cockroach, living in caves in Indonesia’s remote East Kalimantan province, the group announced on Wednesday. The team said the area where the new species were discovered is threatened by environmental degradation.
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/ 22 December 2004
Armando Guebuza, one of Mozambique’s richest businessmen and a stalwart of the ruling party and the country’s fight against Portuguese colonial rule, crowned his political career on Tuesday by being elected president in key polls. Guebuza inflicted a crushing defeat on main opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama in the polls.
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/ 22 December 2004
Minister of Home Affairs Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Tuesday postponed the deportation of about 2 000 illegal immigrants over the festive period. Mapisa-Nqakula made the announcement during a visit to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp on the West Rand.