Staff Reporter
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/ 29 February 2008

How young is too young?

Thirteen-year-old British diver Tom Daley is set to compete at the Olympic Games in Beijing later this year. His age has raised the question of whether there should be should be an age limit for competing at the Games? Two prominent sports people offer their opinions.

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/ 29 February 2008

Petrol price to rocket by 61c a litre

The retail price of all grades of petrol will increase by 61 cents per litre on Wednesday March 5 after increasing by 17 cents a litre last month, the Department of Minerals and Energy announced on Friday. The retail price of a litre of 95 octane unleaded petrol in Gauteng increases to R8,25, and to R8,01 at the coast — new highs.

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/ 29 February 2008

Minister: Job cuts at mines unavoidable

South African Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica has confirmed that job losses at mines are unavoidable, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday. Sonjica said this became apparent at Thursday’s meeting with labour unions and the Chamber of Mines, but she would not disclose the number of job losses that will take place.

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/ 29 February 2008

PSL tills ring with moolah

The worst Premier Soccer League side will, at the end of this season, have made at least R12,7-million in revenue. And if one club were to be dominant and win all the trophies on offer, it would bank at least R32-million — and that is excluding revenue from sponsors and gate takings.

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/ 29 February 2008

Iraq council approves ‘Chemical Ali’ hanging

Iraq’s presidency council has cleared the way for the long-delayed execution of Saddam Hussein’s cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known as ”Chemical Ali”, to be carried out, Iraqi officials said on Friday. The execution of Majeed has been delayed for months by a legal wrangle over who has the authority to green light the hangings.

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/ 29 February 2008

Army prepares to evacuate Harry after blackout fails

Army commanders were making frantic arrangements on Thursday night to bring Prince Harry back from Afghanistan after an American website disclosed that he had been serving with other British troops fighting the Taliban. The prince, who is 10 weeks into a 14-week tour, was believed to still be in the country on Thursday night among British soldiers in the southern Helmand province.

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/ 29 February 2008

But do they think?

Incredulity: how else was one to react to the news that an American think tank had recently dished out a series of awards to other think tanks — including the locally based Institute for Security Studies (ISS). On a little reflection it is easy to see how this is possible. As political philosopher Hannah Arendt once remarked: "The trouble with think-tankers is that they don’t think!"

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/ 29 February 2008

Means test axing is good for savings

The abolition of the means test for the payment of old-age pensions, mooted in last week’s budget, might be an incentive to save, says Elias Masilela, chief strategist of Sanlam Employee Benefits. The means test is a complicated calculation that penalises those who have saved for retirement by reducing the grant amount if the individual is already receiving a retirement income.