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/ 4 November 2003
A group of men allegedly planning a right-wing take-over of the government were given noms de guerre and military ranks and had to take an oath of loyalty, the Pretoria High Court heard on Tuesday. At meetings, the men also recited a rewritten version of the Blood River Covenant.
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/ 4 November 2003
Testimony by journalist Ranjeni Munusamy before the Hefer Commission will be inadmissible hearsay evidence, the Bloemfontein High Court heard on Tuesday. ”All her evidence would be second hand, and maybe even third or fourth hand,” advocate John Campbell, for Munusamy, argued.
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/ 4 November 2003
Health and human rights groups are concerned about prison conditions in Swaziland, where alleged torture, lack of basic hygiene and unsafe sexual practices are spreading HIV among inmates.
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/ 4 November 2003
KwaZulu-Natal education minister Narend Singh has ordered an investigation into Afrikaans matric examination papers that apparently fell from a vehicle last week, said education spokesperson Joshua Mazibuko.
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/ 4 November 2003
South Africa has made significant gains since the advent of democracy in April 1994. However, the country still faces serious problems. The most significant one — apart from the impact of HIV/Aids — is the lack of economic and social rights for a large sector of the population.
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/ 4 November 2003
Impoverished areas around the district of Sebokeng, south of Johannesburg, have existed on the doorstep of a major economic hub, without any trickle down of the benefits of South Africa’s macro-economic stability. Now, nearly 10 years after democracy, sanitation services are finally being rolled out to residents in these areas.
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/ 4 November 2003
Political parties have strongly criticised the police for the arrest of Groblersdal Chief Magistrate Hendrik van der Walt last week, allegedly for defeating the ends of justice. Democratic Alliance Chief Whip Douglas Gibson said if Van der Walt was treated by police in the manner alleged, ”it is a chilling reminder of what happens to judges in Zimbabwe”.
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/ 4 November 2003
Fifty newly-elected Swaziland parliamentarians were swore into office on Monday, with the speaker in the parliament of Africa’s last absolute monarchy warning the politicians not to be bullied by their ministers.
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/ 4 November 2003
Several African churches severed relations on Monday with US Anglican congregations which support gay priests, leading a revolt in the developing world against the consecration of a homosexual bishop
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/ 4 November 2003
A prominent Internet activist was set to go on trial in China on Tuesday, as the government appeared undeterred by recent difficulties it had encountered in battling cyber-dissent through the courts.