Staff Reporter
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/ 5 December 2007

Zille: Cape housing projects hampered by politics

Political interference, red tape and legislation are among the factors slowing the City of Cape Town’s housing projects, mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. Delivery of housing opportunities had been delayed and several causes of this identified, she told the last full council meeting of the year. A shortage of project managers in the housing department was a major factor.

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/ 5 December 2007

Manufacturing output quickens to 5,2%

South Africa’s manufacturing output recovered in October to grow an unadjusted 5,2% year-on-year in volume terms, after contracting 1,4% in September, official data showed on Wednesday. Compared with September, manufacturing production rose a seasonally-adjusted 7,2% in October, Statistics South Africa said.

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/ 5 December 2007

Iranian president claims US report as a victory

Jubilant Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Wednesday said the United States report confirming his country had abandoned its nuclear weapons programme was a ”declaration of victory”. ”This was a final shot to those who, in the past several years, spread a sense of threat and concern in the world through lies of nuclear weapons.” Ahmadinejad said.

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/ 5 December 2007

SA holds back on signing trade pact with EU

South Africa said on Wednesday it would not sign a new trade pact with the European Union until its concerns over possible "detrimental impacts" new accords could have on Africa had been addressed. "South Africa is very much opposed to the inclusion of certain trade and services clauses," Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General Gert Grobler told journalists.

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/ 5 December 2007

Cash boost for training of Gauteng detectives

The Gauteng provincial police service received a cash boost of R500 000 on Wednesday for the specialised training of detectives. The South African Insurance Association’s deputy executive officer, Refiloe Moletsane, said the unacceptable levels of crime in the country had prompted the association to assist with the funding of the training programme.

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/ 5 December 2007

Van der Vyver may sue state for wrongful prosecution

The family of Fred van der Vyver, the acquitted accused in the Inge Lotz murder case, intends suing the state for his wrongful prosecution, the Times online reported on Wednesday. Van der Vyver’s father, Louis, said the next logical step would be an investigation into the actions of the detectives responsible for presenting controversial fingerprint evidence.

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/ 5 December 2007

Oil up as Opec agrees no output change

Oil rose on Wednesday after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) decided to keep output levels unchanged, rebuffing consumer-country calls for more crude to rein in prices now near a barrel. Opec also agreed to meet again at the end of January to review its decision ahead of a regular March gathering.

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/ 5 December 2007

Absa announces increase in bank charges

Absa will increase its bank charges by 4,2% on average for 2008, it announced on Wednesday. However, it said a number of products and services would cost less or be free of charge from January 1. The new pricing was aimed at encouraging customers to use the cheaper digital banking rather than going into branches, Absa said in a statement.

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/ 5 December 2007

Kruger park launches zero-tolerance campaign

In an attempt to ensure the smooth running of the Kruger National Park during the festive season, the park launched a ”zero-tolerance” campaign on Wednesday. Running until January 2, Operation Sledgehammer will see park personnel and the police working together to ensure that ”law breakers” were brought to book.