Bloemfontein Celtic pushed Amazulu deeper into the relegation zone when they beat them 1-0 in a PSL game played at Seisa Ramabodu Stadium on Sunday. Celtic striker Nthokozo Sikhakhane opened the scoring in the 39th minute when he beat Amazulu goalkeeper Tshepo Motshwening in the far right corner.
Judgement was reserved on Thursday on further applications made in an interdict to suspend the election of new office bearers by an African National Congress (ANC) regional conference. Judge Corne van Zyl in the Bloemfontein High Court reserved judgement until April 4 after hearing argument on an application by 17 people wanting to join the original applicants in the matter.
Fires in the Free State have already destroyed more than 60 000ha of veld, the provincial department of water affairs and forestry said on Monday. Spokesperson Malcolm Proctor said last year’s figure of 69 000ha destroyed will probably be exceeded by next week. ”This is bad,” he said.
Senior Cape Town advocate Johan van der Berg lost his bid in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Thursday to stay on as a practising advocate at the Cape Bar. The SCA dismissed Van der Berg’s appeal against a decision by two Cape High Court judges to strike his name from the roll of advocates.
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by two rapists against their convictions and sentences for gang-raping a teenager 24 years ago. The attack took place in 1983 at the home of a friend of the teenager in Wynberg, Cape Town, when the men were 18 years old.
The Cheetahs snapped their poor recent form to garner an incredible 38-20 victory over the fancied Brumbies in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The hosts led 14-0 at the break and never looked like losing the game. The Cheetahs were spectacular and ran the ball at every opportunity.
Royalty payments are tax deductible under the Income Tax Act, the Supreme Court of Appeal held on Tuesday, upholding an appeal by BP Southern Africa against a judgement of the Cape Town Income-Tax Special Court. The case was about the BP trademarks, colour schemes, designs and symbols that BP Southern Africa has used since 1959.
The Sharks continued their impressive form in the Super 14 and maintained their unbeaten status with a hard-fought but deserved 30-14 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The Sharks trailed 13-14 at the break, but were more purposeful in the second half, scoring two of their tree tries in this period.
The Bloemfontein High Court on Thursday postponed an urgent court interdict sought by four African National Congress (ANC) members to suspend the election of new office bearers at a northern Free State ANC regional conference. The matter was suspended to March 29 for consideration by the court.
South Africa should not see itself as the ”criminal skunk” of the world, because many other countries in transition had the same high crime prevalence, a criminologist said on Wednesday. Dap Louw, a psychology professor at the University of the Free State, said South Africans should also not develop a ”learned helplessness syndrome”.
The crime most feared in South Africa is housebreaking, according to a survey recently conducted for the National Prosecuting Authority. ”The reason is the fear that the burglary will take place while the residents are on the premises,” said Andre du Toit, acting director for public prosecutions in the Free State.
Crime is an ”illness” that affects all and makes the population live in fear, businessman and former premier of Mpumalanga Mathews Phosa said on Wednesday. He was speaking at a symposium at the University of the Free State on the effect of serious crime and violent crime in South Africa.
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/ 28 February 2007
The Free State will spend more than R10,6-billion on social and human development in this financial year, with the education department getting more than half of this, provincial finance minister Tate Makgoe said on Wednesday in delivering the province’s budget for 2007/08 in Bloemfontein. The department of education will get a proposed allocation of R5,6-billion.
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/ 27 February 2007
A long-awaited report by a Dutch Reformed Church task team on homosexuality and gay relationships is ready for publication, the Kerkbode reported on Tuesday. It said part of the report is based on consensus, but there are various recommendations on which the general synod will have to decide.
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/ 26 February 2007
Isolated drought conditions and the heatwave of the last 10 days in many parts of South Africa have affected the maize crop severely, said the general manager of Grain SA, John Purchase, on Monday. ”[With] the heat at 35 to 36 degrees Celsius daily, [or] even higher, there was no chance that maize crops could pollinate and produce,” said Purchase.
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/ 22 February 2007
The Northern Cape Afrikaner enclave of Orania has launched a chequebook as part of its own currency system, a spokesperson said on Thursday. ”The Orania business chamber launched the chequebook last night [Wednesday], during which the first ten chequebooks were auctioned off,” Eleanor Lombard said in a statement.
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/ 22 February 2007
Former internationals performed well for the Diamond Eagles as they saw off the Eastern Cape Warriors by 61 runs in the opening Standard Bank Pro20 match at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein on Wednesday. Jacques Rudolph, Morne van Wyk and Nicky Boje were notable as the Eagles began their title defence in impressive fashion.
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/ 19 February 2007
Litigation continued in the Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday to change the name of the Makhado municipality back to Louis Trichardt. A full bench of five judges heard argument in the appeal by the Louis Trichardt Chairpersons’ Association against the minister of arts and culture and others.
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/ 14 February 2007
The Bloemfontein flying squad has been ”beefed-up” with a new leadership team following allegations of members watching pornography on TV instead of answering duty phones. Superintendent Sam Makhele on Wednesday said Free State police Commissioner Amon Mashigo made the changes during the recent restructuring process within the police.
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/ 6 February 2007
A tip-off to police led to a constable being arrested and about R500Â 000 worth of dagga being seized from a police vehicle on Tuesday, eastern Free State police said. Superintendent Motarafi Ntepe said the Bloemfontein dog unit was tipped off that a police vehicle was about to load and transport dagga in the Ficksburg area.
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/ 2 February 2007
Free State farmers have accused Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulu Xingwana of hate speech over her allegations of worker abuse and widespread, inhumane evictions in the industry. ”She is accusing us of murder, rape and evictions,” Free State Agriculture president Louw Steytler said on Friday.
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/ 1 February 2007
Leave to appeal a fraud conviction and a four-year prison sentence by Sandile Tsopo, husband of Free State education provincial minister Ouma Tsopo, was denied on Thursday by the Bloemfontein Regional Court. Regional magistrate MI Menong, however, extended Tsopo’s bail pending the outcome of a petition to be filed at the high court.
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/ 16 January 2007
The Free State department of transport on Tuesday announced changes to the province’s vehicle number-plate regulations. ”The [provincial minister] for public works, roads and transport, Seiso Mohai, has approved amendments to the provincial notices regarding number plates after the department was flooded with requests from the public,” Gunnett Kaaf, a departmental spokesperson, said.
A 25-year-old Bloemfontein woman, Michelle van Deventer, was seriously injured when she jumped five floors to escape a fire in her flat on Monday, police said. Inspector Lorraine Kalp said the incident happened at 5.20am. ”She was admitted to the Medi-Clinic hospital in Bloemfontein in a stable, but serious condition.”
The South African biofuels industry on Monday welcomed the government’s approval of a draft biofuel strategy, to be fine-tuned in consultation with the industry. ”This is an enormously positive step for the development of a local renewable fuel industry, which is welcomed by all involved role players,” said Fanie Brink, managing director of Biofuels Industry Development.
Police have arrested a third suspect after a Free State police officer was murdered near Bloemfontein on December 30. Inspector Harry Nagel said the third suspect, a 26-year-old man, was arrested on Thursday morning near Hoëveld in the Bloemspruit area outside Bloemfontein.
South African lion breeders are prepared to go to court to test regulations on canned hunting, specifically of lions, the deputy chairperson of the South African Predator Breeders’ Association said on Wednesday. The regulations, to come into force in March, stipulate the circumstances under which lion hunting can take place.
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/ 14 December 2006
The leadership of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) is experiencing a communication breakdown, Sanco deputy president Ruth Bhengu said on Thursday. ”We have not met since yesterday [Wednesday],” Bhengu said. Sanco’s fourth national conference at the University of the Free State was adjourned on Wednesday, its second day.
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/ 13 December 2006
African National Congress (ANC) president Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday criticised individuals within the party who campaign for leadership positions within the movement. Mbeki told the South African National Civic Organisation conference in Bloemfontein that ”this is a matter that worries me and the leaders of the ANC movement”.
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/ 24 November 2006
Listing Aids as the cause of death on public death certificates will not in any way improve the collection of statistics on HIV-related deaths, the Aids Law Project (ALP) said on Friday. ”It is also a violation of the deceased’s right to confidentiality, which can have serious repercussions for surviving family members,” the ALP said in a statement.
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/ 23 November 2006
A disciplinary hearing into allegations of unprofessional conduct by the former chief state pathologist of the Free State, Dr Leon Wagner, has started in Bloemfontein without him entering any plea. It is alleged that Wagner recorded ”Aids” as the cause of death without the proper evidence and or examining the body.
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/ 22 November 2006
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld an appeal by a computer software company, which had been involved in a long-standing dispute with Telkom worth billions of rand. In 2000 Telkom claimed more than R2,6-billion from the United States-based Telcordia Technologies, a Delaware Corporation, in a dispute over the nature of a software contract.