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/ 2 February 2004
A inquiry has begun in the Democratic Republic of Congo to establish the causes of a fatal accident in which a boat carrying more than 500 people sank after a fire broke out on board, a senior official said on Sunday. About 200 people are still missing following the tragedy, which happened last Monday.
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/ 2 February 2004
President Thabo Mbeki should declare war on crime and announce the return of the death penalty when he delivers his state of the nation address this week, New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Sunday. Mbeki should commit government to ”concrete actions that will improve the lives of our people”.
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/ 2 February 2004
Over 300 000 legal abortions have been performed since the practice was legalised seven years ago, the Christian Democratic Party (CDP) said at an anti-abortion prayer vigil in Braamfontein on Sunday. The vigil was part of countrywide protests against South Africa’s abortion laws.
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/ 2 February 2004
Tree-lined avenues walled with six-foot stockades and electric fencing in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs hide lush green gardens. What many are not aware of is that a network of Malawian green fingers tends the city’s greenbelt. Samuel Jere is one such carer of the rolling lawns of the City of Gold.
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/ 2 February 2004
Two of the four South Africans, who were earlier on Sunday reported missing following a stampede in Mecca, were found in a safe condition at a local police station, the South African mission in Saudi Arabia said.
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/ 2 February 2004
MyDoom, one of the fastest-spreading internet worms ever produced, hit its target on Sunday and shut down the American software company SCO’s website by flooding it with millions of requests. Security experts believe a row about software ownership may be behind the attack on the SCO Group.
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/ 2 February 2004
The number of Zimbabweans needing food aid has increased to 7,5-million, nearly two-thirds of its population, according to a joint assessment by United Nations experts and Zimbabwean officials published on Sunday. It said there had been a remarkable increase in the number of people going hungry since September, when five million were considered in need of help.
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/ 2 February 2004
December’s 0,5% reduction in the base interest rate disappointed many South Africans. It now looks mean against the very low inflation figures published soon afterwards. The strong rand has dragged down exports and revenues and cost jobs. Import prices are down, putting pressure on the current account.
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/ 2 February 2004
The so-called "brain drain" of professional expertise from South Africa has been a source of concern for several years now. Discussions of the trend have tended to focus on white professionals –- but, it appears that black South Africans are also joining the exodus.