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/ 17 November 2004
The British government is to end its two-year suspension of deportations of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe because the concession has been abused, the immigration minister, Des Browne, announced on Tuesday. Browne insisted there had been no change in the government’s opposition to human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
Zuma: SA does not take sides in Zim
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/ 17 November 2004
South African retailer Mr Price on Wednesday reported a 31% increase in headline earnings per share to 33,2 cents for the six months ended September 30, from 25,3 cents a year earlier. The group reported an interim dividend of 13,2 cents — up 91% on the previous 6,9 cents.
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/ 17 November 2004
South African financial services and insurance giant Old Mutual plc said on Wednesday it had hoped to make an announcement on a black economic empowerment (BEE) deal before the end of this year but will have to postpone this until next year. "We’ve been a bit optimistic," said the group’s financial director.
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/ 17 November 2004
Forget about dancing genies, buxom harem girls and dashing heroes in mythical Arab lands bent on saving ravishing princesses. In this animated movie, the issue is one of divine love. But <i>Muhammad: The Last Prophet</i> — a two-year, $10-million undertaking — is more than a 90-minute cartoon chronicling the life of Islam’s founding prophet, say its producers and distributors.
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/ 17 November 2004
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was ”appalled” to hear on Tuesday that its pension fund was being used to buy shares in Telkom. Cosatu has always been opposed to privatising Telkom, and demanded a meeting of the trustees of the pension fund, and the cancellation of the controversial R6,6-billion deal.
Telkom stake changes hands
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/ 17 November 2004
Singapore will not sponsor a “publicity blitz” to promote condom use “out of respect” for residents who hold “conservative views”.
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/ 17 November 2004
Zimbabwe’s Parliament has rejected an adverse report on its own electoral reforms, despite the report having been written by a parliamentary committee. Heated debate between the ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change this week saw the report being thrown out by 75 votes to 37.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=19686">Zimbabwe refugees may be sent back</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=125651">Zuma: SA does not take sides in Zim</a>
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/ 17 November 2004
Cape Town authorities were considering on Tuesday night whether to launch a hunt for the great white shark that killed an elderly woman off a Cape Town beach — the second attack on swimmers in the area this year. They were also debating whether to stop tourists feeding sharks, a practice that may have encouraged the animals to linger in the waters.
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/ 17 November 2004
A suspected mercenary on trial in Equatorial Guinea for an alleged British-led coup plot involving Mark Thatcher retracted his confession on Tuesday and said he had been tortured. ”There was no attempted coup d’état in this country,” the South African arms dealer Nick du Toit told a court in the capital, Malabo. ”I had to tell these people what they wanted. It was the only way to stay alive.”
Thatcher to be tried in absentia
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/ 17 November 2004
The African singer Papa Wemba, known as the king of rumba, was found guilty on Tuesday of involvement in a people smuggling network which brought hundreds of Congolese into France, disguised as band members. A Paris court sentenced him to 30 months and fined him 10Â 000 euros for helping immigrants illegally obtain visas by passing them off as band members.