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/ 9 December 2005

Icasa licenses second national operator

Following the licensing of the second national operator to compete with Telkom, South Africa is finally set for a duopoly of fixed line operators, possibly from 2006, it was announced on Friday. Although the SNO licence issued by the Independent Communications Authority (Icasa) entitled the new player to compete with Telkom on the public switched telecommunications service front, the unbundling of the local loop has been delayed until further notice.

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/ 9 December 2005

In a league of its own

The African National Congress Youth League has become increasingly isolated in its defiant support for Jacob Zuma, after key party structures dumped him in the aftermath of his rape charge this week. The league said the rape charge alone, without a conviction, was insufficient to warrant a change in its stance.

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/ 9 December 2005

A derby too soon

There are sporting contests so special that the faithful plan months, even years, ahead for the next instalment of their favourite event. The World Cup is one such occasion, cricket’s Ashes series is another. In South Africa, the Soweto Derby features high among these events. At least it does most of the time.

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/ 9 December 2005

SA cricket: Flashbacks to the future

How familiar it has all become, this elliptical cricketing orbit that every few years drags South African teams through the shrivelling radiation of the Australian game. How hollow the optimistic journalism has come to sound, these dutiful column inches that precede each harrowing, pronouncing that the lessons of the past have been learned, the chinks fortified.

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/ 9 December 2005

Table Mountain fire rages out of control

The fire which broke out on Friday on the back slopes of Table Mountain is still raging out of control and has damaged buildings in a youth camp. Cape Town fire control officer Mark Bosch said the fire was now burning on two fronts. There had been reports that the south easter, which is driving the flames, was reaching 45kph, he said.

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/ 9 December 2005

SA wrestles for Kyoto-plus treaty

South African government negotiators played a central role in charting a future for reducing climate change at the giant United Nations conference in Montreal recently. Alf Wills, leader of the 50-strong South African delegation, presided over a central committee trying to ensure a way forward for the Kyoto Protocol and its attempts to limit harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

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/ 9 December 2005

Get ready for Chiefs vs Pirates

Amakhosi have upset The Buccaneers’ applecart once this season and proved to themselves they have the ability to do it again. The form team, however, remains Pirates. A victory for Pirates will place them firmly in front on the title trail and all but eliminate defending champions Chiefs’ hopes.