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/ 28 October 2004
South African producer prices for all commodities rose by 1,4% in the 12 months to the end of September from a 1,1% increase for the 12 months to end August, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. On the month, the producer price index (PPI) was -0,9% compared with a 0,1% month-on-month (m/m) drop in August.
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/ 28 October 2004
Food retailer Shoprite Holdings is expecting an "exciting" and much-improved second half of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003, with its turnover in the three months from July to September rising by 9,3% on a like-for-like basis, continuing the upward sales trend it experienced in the latter part of its financial year to the end of June 2004.
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/ 28 October 2004
South African global financial and risk services provider Alexander Forbes said on Thursday that it is not involved in an investigation into the business activities of a number of large, United States-based global insurance brokers. The probe has been expanded to an active investigation of improper business practices, specifically bid-rigging.
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/ 28 October 2004
A full-blown emergency is threatening Ethiopia’s Somali region, the United Nations warned on Thursday. Wells are drying up and malnutrition is beginning to set in, according to a joint UN rapid-assessment team sent to monitor the crisis. "The Somali region is declining into a crisis situation with some districts already in a state of emergency," said the UN agencies report.
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/ 28 October 2004
A series of bomb explosions at a bridge in Soweto and ”heathen” mosques and temples were aimed at creating a climate for a Boeremag revolution, a self-confessed Boeremag coup plotter told the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday. Former Bela-Bela farmer Deon Crous was testifying in the trial of 22 alleged Boeremag members — who have pleaded not guilty to charges including high treason, murder, sabotage, terrorism and those relating the manufacturing and possession of explosives and firearms.
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/ 28 October 2004
Gold Fields net earnings for the September quarter was R102-million (21 cents per share) compared with a net loss of R186-million (39 cents per share) in June, the gold miner announced on Thursday. Earnings were however down compared to September last year when a sum of R421-million (89 cents per share) was posted.
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/ 28 October 2004
Three soccer referees accused of match fixing were each sentenced to four years or a fine of R16 000 by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, police said. Senior Superintendent Selby Bokaba said assistant referees in the first division, Patrick Banda and Ishmael Mzwandile Fatyela, and referee Justice Lungile Dywili were arrested during Operation Dribble.
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/ 28 October 2004
The South African government said it regretted the ”outcome” of the Congress of South African Trade Union’s visit to Zimbabwe but that the country had been within its rights to deport them, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in Pretoria on Wednesday. ”We will consult with the Zimbabwean authorities and Cosatu to avoid a reoccurrence,” said spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
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/ 28 October 2004
Australian and Indonesian scientists have identified a new and completely unexpected species of human. It was only a metre high, had a small brain but a distinctly human face. It made delicate stone tools and it shared the planet with Homo sapiens at least 18 000 years ago.
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/ 28 October 2004
The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, was in a serious condition on Wednesday night after a sharp deterioration in his health, Palestinian officials said. A three-man emergency committee of Palestinian leaders was rapidly appointed as an ambulance rushed doctors to his Ramallah compound, where he has been confined by Israel for more than two years.