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/ 13 February 2008
Attempts to reach an out-of-court settlement between a KwaZulu-Natal ferromanganese factory and its workers over compensation for manganese poisoning foundered on Wednesday. The workers’ trade union and attorney accused the company, Assmang, of negotiating in bad faith.
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/ 13 February 2008
The KwaZulu-Natal doctor who faces a disciplinary hearing for giving dual-therapy drugs to babies at risk of HIV infection should be hailed as a hero, a doctors’ organisation said on Wednesday. ”To discipline him for doing his ethical duty is disgraceful,” the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society said in a statement.
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/ 13 February 2008
Aviation pioneer Frank Piasecki, inventor of the tandem-rotor helicopter used in troop-transport missions and land and sea rescue flights, has died. He was 88. Igor Sikorsky became the first American to build and fly a helicopter, in 1941, and Piasecki became the second, in 1943.
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/ 13 February 2008
Verita Bouvaire Thompson, the reputed long-time mistress and confidante of Humphrey Bogart, has died. She was 89. In 1982, Thompson wrote a revelatory book called Bogie and Me: A Love Story in which she described a 14-year secret love affair with Bogart that overlapped his marriage to Lauren Bacall.
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/ 13 February 2008
French crooner Henri Salvador, who first went on stage in the cabarets of pre-war Paris and played guitar with Django Reinhardt, died in Paris on February 13 aged 90, his record company announced. Salvador helped introduce France to rock’n’roll, inspired the invention of bossa nova in Brazil and was a pioneer of the music video.
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/ 13 February 2008
Allan Grant, a Life magazine staff photographer who captured such historic moments as the atomic bomb tests in the Nevada desert to some of the last photos of Marilyn Monroe before her suicide, has died. He was 88. Grant died at his home in Brentwood on February 1, said his wife, Karin Grant.
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/ 13 February 2008
Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson will replace Paul Harris in the South African squad to tour Bangladesh, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Wednesday. A CSA statement said Harris would miss the tour because of an abscess that required surgery. ”Robbie has shown excellent form in the SuperSport Series,” selection chief Joubert Strydom said in the statement.
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/ 13 February 2008
At least 284 schools in the greater Durban region owe the eThekwini Water Department over R5-million for unpaid water and electricity. eThekwini water and sanitation head, Neil Macleod, said none of the schools in question had their water or electricity supply disconnected because of the arrears.
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/ 13 February 2008
The Department of Home Affairs expects to introduce the proposed new smart-card identity document (ID) to the general public within two years, it said on Wednesday. The card will replace the old ID, which is prone to fraud. The new ID will be much more difficult to forge.
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/ 13 February 2008
The Presidency said on Wednesday that it would have to consult President Thabo Mbeki before commenting on a report quoting former ambassador to France Barbara Masekela. In the report, Masekela is quoted as saying she had arranged a meeting between Mbeki and an arms company that is the co-accused in Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial.