Police arrest three over armed robbery (Lead, changing dateline)

JOHANNESBURG/BEIJING - South African police said Thursday they had made three arrests in connection with an armed robbery Wednesday at the hotel of foreign journalists covering the World Cup.

The journalists - two Portuguese and one from Spain - were held up at gunpoint in a room at a lodge in Magaliesburg, north-west of Johannesburg. The Portuguese team is staying nearby.

Nobody was injured during the robbery, but the journalists had cameras, laptops, cell phones, passports and items of clothing stolen.

In a statement the police said the arrests were made overnight but did not say where or give information on the suspects.

Certain items which had been stolen from the journalists had been recovered, police added.

Police General Bheki Cele said he hoped the arrests would “reassure the foreign media contingent that the police of this country are determined to create a safe environment” for the tournament, which kicks off Friday.

Separately, police spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said police had received no reports of four Chinese journalists being robbed while driving in Johannesburg Wednesday of a camera and cash.

“Nothing has been reported to us,” he told DPA.

China’s Beijing News newspaper reported Thursday that the journalists were approached by a “several armed black people” after they pulled over to the side of the road en route to an interview.

The report said the robbers demanded that the journalists open the door and robbed one of the journalists of cash and a camera valued at about 10,000 yuan ($1,500).

None of the journalists was injured, the paper said.

Security is one of the biggest areas of concern around the World Cup.

South Africa has some of the world’s highest rates of violent crime. The police have deployed over 40,000 police to protect World Cup sites and tourist spots.