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/ 24 August 2004

Petrol price likely to rise by 22 cents a litre

The retail price of petrol is expected to rise by 22 cents a litre next week, the Minerals and Energy Department said on Tuesday. The department said the anticipated fuel price rises from midnight next Wednesday were the result of a sharp increase in the international prices of crude oil. This could be ascribed to the political tension in the Middle East, the question of sustainable international crude oil production, and the high demand for crude oil by China.

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/ 24 August 2004

High-quality photocopiers lead to boom in fake Dalís

Finnish police said on Monday they were investigating a large-scale art fraud in which dozens of high-quality photocopies of works by artists such as Salvador Dalí were passed off as originals and sold for up to 10 000 euros each. Helsinki police said their prime suspect was the organiser of an exhibition in the Finnish capital that claimed to display original works by Dalí and such other famous artists as Chagall, Rembrandt, Picasso and Andy Warhol.

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/ 24 August 2004

Police seek court order to bury Meintjes

Police are likely to approach the Bloemfontein magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for an order to bury Paul Meintjes, whose family was told by a ”prophet” that he would rise from the dead. By Monday evening, the family had not met their deadline to contact the police with funeral arrangements, said Free State police spokesperson Captain Sam Makhele.

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/ 24 August 2004

Terre’Blanche advised not to sue

Eugene Terre’Blanche has been advised not to pursue legal action against prison officials who incorrectly arrested him for violating his parole conditions, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Terre’Blanche, who is on parole after serving three of a five year sentence for the attempted murder of security guard Paul Motshabi, was arrested on Sunday for going to the Pretoria High Court to get permission to travel out of his magisterial district.

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/ 24 August 2004

Mann’s million-dollar promise

The prosecutor in the case of South African alleged mercenary leader Nick du Toit, who has admitted a limited role in a coup bid in Equatorial Guinea, called on Monday for him to be sentenced to death. The South African said he had accepted the job at the request of Simon Mann, the alleged leader of 70 other suspected mercenaries arrested in Zimbabwe. He said Mann had promised him a million dollars.

  • Call for death penalty for SA ‘mercenary’
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    / 24 August 2004

    A people without hope in Sudan

    Hawa Abdullahi’s father pulls back her orange shawl to show where a bullet smashed through her upper arm. The 15-year-old girl is in pain and traumatised, but in her family she is the fortunate one. Four of her brothers are dead after an attack they blame on the Janjaweed.

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    / 24 August 2004

    Illicit diamond trade: diminishing returns

    Having been the best friends of some of the nastiest putschists and warmongers on the planet, diamonds are slowly but with considerable difficulty coming clean. African countries are relying on an international certification programme to open up new markets for legitimate diamonds, but it is impossible to know how many gems are still evading the controls.