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/ 31 October 2007
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South African President Thabo Mbeki has repeated his willingness to stand for re-election as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) if the party asks him, state radio reported on Wednesday. ANC branches have started the process of nominating candidates for party president ahead of a party conference in December.
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/ 31 October 2007
European Union and African ministers met in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday to decide whether to risk a diplomatic storm by inviting Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe to an EU-Africa summit. Britain has said it will boycott the proposed summit in Lisbon if Mugabe attends. Some African nations have said they will stay away if the Zimbabwean leader is not invited.
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/ 31 October 2007
The Cape Town City council on Wednesday upheld the metro disciplinary committee’s recommendation that leader of the National People’s Party (NPP) Badih Chaaban be expelled as councillor. Chief whip of the council Anthea Serritslev said a full sitting of council voted in favour of Chaaban’s expulsion.
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/ 31 October 2007
The death toll from Tropical Storm Noel’s rampage through the Caribbean rose to at least 54 on Wednesday as the devastating weather system swirled off Cuba and targeted the Bahamas. In the Dominican Republic alone, the storm killed 41 people, with another 38 reported missing, according to the National Emergencies Centre.
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/ 31 October 2007
Former spy boss Billy Masetlha was on Wednesday accused of not being consistent in testifying in the Hatfield Community Court. Prosecutor Matric Luphondo said Masetlha gave different versions of when a report requested by Inspector General of Intelligence Zolile Ngcakani was compiled. Masetlha is charged with contravening the Intelligence Services Oversight Act.
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/ 31 October 2007
Murder accused Fred van der Vyver’s alibi had been proved beyond reasonable doubt and he should be found not guilty, his advocate told the Cape High Court on Wednesday. Van der Vyver (25) is accused of killing his student girlfriend Inge Lotz with a hammer at her Stellenbosch flat on the afternoon of March 16 2005.
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/ 31 October 2007
His accomplices ”forced” him to have sex with a dead woman, Ncamile Mantashe (28) told the Grahamstown High Court on Wednesday. Mantashe was testifying against Caswell Nkanunu (26) and Sibongile Ncapayi (36), who stand accused of raping, murdering and robbing a 47-year-old woman in her home in December 2004.
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/ 31 October 2007
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk still faces a court challenge from the abalone industry even though he backed down on Wednesday from a harvesting ban. The ban, prompted by rapidly declining stocks, was to have come into effect on Thursday. It would have halted all commercial harvesting of the threatened shellfish from the wild.
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/ 31 October 2007
A London luxury store is launching something slightly different for Halloween — a psychic school teaching customers how to tap into their spiritual powers. Passers-by can pop into Selfridges on the capital’s busy Oxford Street to attend classes ranging from ”Third Eye and Higher Self” to workshops on how to use crystals.
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/ 31 October 2007
Oil prices hit fresh record highs on Wednesday, with New York crude at $94 per barrel after news that United States crude inventories had slumped last week, traders said. "The market is clearly reacting to the larger-than-expected drop in crude oil inventories," said Citigroup analyst Tim Evans. Over the course of Wednesday, prices rocketed by as much as $4 to $5.