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/ 9 February 2005

Russian Parliament weathers no-confidence motion

Russia’s Lower House of Parliament on Wednesday turned down a motion of no confidence in the Cabinet of President Vladimir Putin but many legislators demonstrated their disdain for the government by boycotting the vote. Only 112 deputies of the 450-seat State Duma backed the no-confidence motion. The majority did not cast votes.

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/ 9 February 2005

Kenya takes US corruption message to heart

Kenya is taking seriously the political message behind the United States move to suspend ,5-million in funding for anti-corruption work in the country, Minister of Justice Kiraitu Murungi said on Wednesday. The suspension came one day after Kenyan presidential anti-corruption adviser John Githongo resigned.

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/ 9 February 2005

IFP leader speaks out on Aids

Couples wanting to marry should be required to undergo a compulsory Aids test before the wedding ceremony, says Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. He was speaking at a Cape Town Press Club luncheon on Wednesday. More has to be done to curb the pandemic, including declaring Aids a notifiable disease, he said.

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/ 9 February 2005

Standard Bank gets tough with non-compliers

South African banking group Standard Bank said on Wednesday that it has placed restrictions on the accounts of a small number of customers who have failed to comply with Financial Intelligence Centre Act requirements to reidentify themselves. These customers have ignored the bank’s repeated requests to reidentify themselves

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/ 9 February 2005

Mzansi: 6 000 accounts every day, and growing

The Mzansi bank account for low-income, previously unbanked people, saw 557 439 accounts opened by the first week in February, the Banking Council announced on Wednesday. ”Mzansi has been successful way beyond our and any other stakeholders’ expectations,” said Colin Donian, director of the Mzansi initiative.

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/ 9 February 2005

Sex-crimes accused coy about their little ‘red album’

The defence in the sex-crimes trial of Pretoria Advocates Cezanne Visser and Dirk Prinsloo tried to stop the viewing in court on Wednesday of a police video showing naked pictures of Visser as well as Prinsloo’s ex-wife, girlfriends and other friends. The defence asked that a portion of the video showing the pictures contained in the so called ”red album” not be shown to the court.

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/ 9 February 2005

Harmony bid for Gold Fields ‘a good try’

The bid by gold miner Harmony Gold for rival Gold Fields is "under water" and history shows that such a hostile offer has never succeeded, Gold Fields chief executive officer Ian Cockerill said on Wednesday. "In the history of hostile takeovers, 100% of all bids that are under water have never been successful," he said.