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/ 19 October 2004

Locust battle to last two or three years

Donors are belatedly coughing up cash to fight locusts in West Africa, but agricultural experts warned on Monday that it will take two or three years to reduce the number of insects to the point where they no longer present a significant threat to agriculture. Nearly half the crop-spraying aircraft in West Africa have been sent to Senegal.

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/ 19 October 2004

Media rebuked at Shaik trial

The media were called to order for ”sensationalist” reporting as the Schabir Shaik trial entered its second week on Monday. At the start of proceedings, prosecutor Billy Downer told Judge Hillary Squires that the weekend’s Sunday Tribune had carried details from a report on Shaik’s company books that the prosecution commissioned from auditors KPMG.

  • The assistant who ‘knew too much’
  • Shaik’s assistant spills the beans
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    / 19 October 2004

    Pick ‘n Pay manages low inflation, deflation

    Listed retailer Pick ‘n Pay has managed the current South African environment of very low inflation and deflation in some categories by improving its operational efficiencies as well as encouraging higher sales volumes, reflected in an improvement in its operating profit margin to 2,6% from 2,4% a year earlier.

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    / 19 October 2004

    JSE ticks higher as world markets climb

    The JSE Securities Exchange opened marginally firmer on Tuesday, against the backdrop of strong world markets. Advancers outnumbered decliners, but for the most part gains were relatively modest. By 9.20am, the all share index ticked up 0,14%. The financial and banks indices firmed 0,21% and 0,13% respectively.

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    / 19 October 2004

    Japanese man fakes own kidnap to pay for wedding

    A Japanese man looking to finance his wedding tried to convince his fiancée that he had been kidnapped and that she should seek millions of yen in ransom from his boss, police said on Tuesday. Kiyokazu Konishi (32) was found safe in a car on Monday in Osaka and admitted faking the abduction by sending e-mails on his mobile phone to his fiancée pretending to be a kidnapper.

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    / 19 October 2004

    US poll: ‘They can say anything to get elected’

    Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry boasts of flying an Israeli jet and calls out in Hebrew during Florida campaign stops, trying to keep the state’s large Jewish population from straying to United States President George Bush. In 2000, Jews voted 4-to-1 for Democrats Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket.

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    / 19 October 2004

    US calls for sanctions on Myanmar

    The United States on Monday called on the European Union and other democracies to consider imposing a full import ban on Myanmar to pressure the country’s military junta to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The call came as the political leadership in Myanmar was riven with tensions amid rumours Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt may have been removed or arrested.

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    / 19 October 2004

    Challenge to British jurisdiction over Pitcairn

    Seven men on trial for alleged sex attacks on tiny Pitcairn island — home to descendants of the Bounty mutineers — might have to wait until next year to learn if convictions would result in prison time. Britain’s High Commission in Wellington, New Zeland, is responsible for governing the territory, a tiny speck of rock midway between New Zealand and South America.

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    / 19 October 2004

    Eat your veggies!

    Japanese people are increasingly too fat or too thin, eat fewer vegetables and skip breakfast, as modern living takes its toll on the nation’s health, official data showed. The statistics, released nearly halfway through a 10-year government plan aimed at improving health by 2010, showed that in key areas Japan was heading in the other direction.