Staff Reporter
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/ 20 November 2007

Rasool concerned at ‘overeager’ ANC members

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool has blamed ”overeager” members of his own party for a report that President Thabo Mbeki has intervened to defuse a row over Rasool himself. Rasool, a member of the African National Congress (ANC), was accused in an official report last week of knowingly making incorrect statements to the legislature.

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/ 20 November 2007

A million Somalis have fled their homes

The number of Somalis uprooted by fighting in their own country has hit a ”staggering” one million, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said 600 000 people are believed to have fled Somalia’s lawless capital, Mogadishu, since February.

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/ 20 November 2007

Clash of the heavyweights to come

Two of the country’s best heavyweights, Corrie Sanders and Osborne Machimana, will clash at Emperors Palace on February 2 next year, it was announced by promoter Rodney Berman on Tuesday. The tantalising showdown for Machimana’s South African heavyweight title will head a boxing extravaganza.

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/ 20 November 2007

New Bill aims to enhance confidence in judiciary

Legislation relating to judicial conduct and ethics was unanimously approved in the National Assembly on Tuesday. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla said recent controversial incidents regarding alleged indiscretions by members of the judiciary had highlighted the lack of a credible legal framework.

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/ 20 November 2007

Jo’burg metro cops go back to work

Newly appointed Johannesburg metro police officers who downed tools to protest against a lack of equipment went back to work on Tuesday, police said. ”Officers were told that if they did not go back to work then they would be charged, since they form part of an essential service,” said metro police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar.

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/ 20 November 2007

Mbeki will not attend Nepad summit

President Thabo Mbeki will not attend a Dakar summit aimed at accelerating an African initiative to increase government accountability and reduce poverty, his deputy minister of foreign affairs said on Tuesday. Mbeki had been expected to be among a group of African leaders gathering capital to discuss ways of improving the New Partnership for African Development (Nepad).

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/ 20 November 2007

Off-duty sergeant witnessed murder of detective

A police sergeant sitting in a car at the Woodstock police station saw two men in a red BMW opening fire on police Inspector Lourens le Roux, the Cape High Court heard on Tuesday. It is alleged that the two men were being investigated by Le Roux for the earlier murder of Godfrey Hendricks, in an argument over a baseball cap.

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/ 20 November 2007

SA urges rich nations to equip Darfur force

South Africa urged rich countries on Tuesday to provide the hardware required for the deployment of a hybrid United Nations-Africa peacekeeping force in the strife-torn Darfur region of western Sudan. The Darfur conflict between rebels and a pro-government militia has claimed an estimated 200 000 lives in the past four years.

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/ 20 November 2007

Botswana Bushmen eye return to court

Bushmen in Botswana on Tuesday confirmed that they planned to return to court within a matter of weeks if the government continued to prevent them from returning home, Survival International said in a statement. ”Hundreds of letters signed by Bushmen were today [Tuesday] handed to Botswana’s Department of Wildlife, detailing their concerns,” the statement said.