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/ 3 August 2004

Shift in focus could aggravate Eritrean situation

About 1,9-million Eritreans currently in need of food aid could suffer even more because the world has shifted its focus to other crises such as Darfur in western Sudan, the United Nations has warned. Eritrea grew only 20% of the food it needed last year and has asked the international community for $120-million to offset the shortfall.

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/ 3 August 2004

Softer rand fuels JSE’s rally

The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was roaring ahead in noon trade on Tuesday, with a softer rand sparking demand for heavyweight resources stocks. Positive sentiment spilled to the rest of the market and advancers outnumbered decliners on the all-share index by about three to two and on the Top 40 index by about three to one.

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/ 3 August 2004

Pay-to-shop: New York’s newest fashion

In New York everything has a price tag, so it seems, and now you can even pay to shop, on a tour of the city’s most coveted shop windows. For , a good guide can leave a shopper breathless. ”Hurry up … we won’t have any time left to go to Soho,” Rebecca Merritt, a guide for Shop Gotham told her group: a dozen teachers from Missouri, whose state motto is ”show me”.

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/ 3 August 2004

Domestic economic picture looking bright

While real gross domestic expenditure is expected to grow by 4,5% this year, South Africa’s overall economy might fail to grow to grow faster than 2,7% this year due to a negative contribution from net exports, the Bureau for Economic Research said on Tuesday. South Africa also runs the risk of balance of payments problems.

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/ 3 August 2004

It’s give and take, Botswana govt tells Debswana

Debswana will continue operations at Jwaneng diamond mine — the world’s richest — although it had not concluded negotiations with the Botswana government on the renewal of its mining licence. ”We have extended the current licence to the end of the year,” permanent secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Affairs, Akolang Tombale, said on Monday.

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/ 3 August 2004

Minister miffed at SNO report

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri would on Monday afternoon not confirm or deny a report that she has promised not to grant a licence to stakeholders in the second network operator (SNO) until the entire process is scrutinised in a judicial review.

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/ 3 August 2004

Space invaders

Scarcely noticed, the United States last month deployed its first ground-based missile interceptor at Fort Greely in Alaska. It was a significant step in the Bush administration’s ambitious and hugely expensive missile defence system — a true ”son of star wars” with profound implications for the rest of the world.

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/ 3 August 2004

Sudan: UN deadline means war

Sudan’s armed forces on Monday described the United Nations resolution on Darfur as ”a declaration of war” and warned that any foreign intervention in the region would be fought ”on land, sea and air”. The armed forces spokesperson, General Muhammad Bashir Suleiman, raised tensions by speaking of a jihad against the ”enemies of Sudan”.

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/ 3 August 2004

Bush: We are a nation in danger

United States President George Bush bowed to election-year pressure on Monday and ended his opposition to the reforms urged by the congressional inquiry into the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks. ”We are a nation in danger,” he said, announcing the appointment of a national intelligence director on the day the US raised its alert level to orange for a number of financial institutions after uncovering details of specific threats.

  • US financial system ‘normal’