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/ 29 November 2007

Africa slashes measles deaths by 91%

In a rare public-health success story on the world’s most beleaguered continent, Africa has slashed deaths from measles by 91% since 2000 thanks to an immunisation drive. Worldwide measles deaths fell to 242 000 between 2000 and 2006, a reduction of 68% made possible by the remarkable gains in Africa.

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/ 28 November 2007

Union wants Lekota charged over Lohatla

The South African National Defence Force Union on Wednesday threatened to lay a criminal charge against Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The union also wants the Labour Department to take action against the South African National Defence Force for non-compliance with health and safety legislation.

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/ 28 November 2007

Kirsten offered India coaching job

Former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten said on Tuesday he has been offered the job as India coach. ”They have offered me the job,” Kirsten said from Delhi. ”I asked them for some time to consider it and they were very obliging, but it’s an extremely exciting prospect and, provided a few details can be worked out, I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he said.

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/ 27 November 2007

Rasool apologises to provincial legislature

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool has apologised to the provincial legislature for ”incorrect” statements made before it on overspending. ”To bring finality and closure to an unfortunate episode, I apologise for anything I said that led to the conclusion of the ad-hoc committee,” he said in Cape Town on Tuesday.

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/ 27 November 2007

Move to expedite Pikoli inquiry

The commission appointed to investigate whether National Prosecution Authority head Vusi Pikoli was fit to hold office on Monday held a meeting with Department of Justice and Constitutional Development officials and Pikoli in a bid to expedite the investigation, the commission said on Tuesday.

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/ 27 November 2007

DA highlights problem of stock theft

More than 28 000 animals were stolen from farms around the country over the past 18 months, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. Less than 40% of the stock — including game, cattle, sheep and goats — was recovered, DA rural safety spokesperson Ryno King said in a statement.

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/ 26 November 2007

Govt declares Highveld regions air-pollution hot spots

The Highveld regions of eastern Gauteng and western Mpumalanga, including towns such as Witbank, Standerton and Boksburg, have been declared air-pollution hot spots. ”There is little doubt that people living and working in these areas do not enjoy air quality that is not harmful to their health and well-being,” the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism said on Monday.

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/ 26 November 2007

Najwa back in court for bail application

Exchanges on Monday between Najwa Petersen’s senior counsel and Najwa’s sister-in-law, Tagmieda Johnson, during cross-examination in Najwa’s bail application provided lively scenes in the Wynberg Regional Court. Najwa is in custody, awaiting trial, for the alleged murder of her entertainer husband, Taliep.

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/ 26 November 2007

Good, bad and ugly of SA’s police stations

Manenberg police station in Cape Town is one of the best-run in the country, while those at Verena in Mpumalanga, KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal, and Inyibiba and Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape are among the worst. These are the findings of a Democratic Alliance study highlighting South Africa’s police stations and the service they offer.

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/ 26 November 2007

Denel chief executive bows out

Denel group chief executive Shaun Liebenberg will not renew his contract when it expires on May 31 next year, the company said on Monday. Liebenberg was appointed in 2005 to manage Denel’s turnaround. While the company posted a loss of R549,1-million for the financial year ended March 31 2007, gross profit rose to R754-million.

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/ 26 November 2007

SA floods kill two, cause millions in damage

Severe floods along South Africa’s southern coast killed two people and caused millions of rand in damage near one of the country’s top tourist attractions, officials said on Monday. Police said a 62-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy drowned as rivers burst their banks and roads were washed away in Eden District municipality.

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/ 23 November 2007

Zuma speaks out against crime in SA

South Africans must speak up if they want the death penalty back, African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma said on Friday. Speaking to about 250 people at an anti-crime rally at Mitchells Plain on the Cape Flats, he also called for ”extraordinary measures” against crime.

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/ 23 November 2007

Student faces high-court trial for murder of parents

A gay psychology student who in July allegedly shot dead both his parents to spare them the grief of his own suicide, is to go on trial in the Cape High Court next year on two charges of murder. Grant Harris (23) on Friday made his seventh appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court, before magistrate Hafeeza Mohamed, since his arrest in August for the double murder.

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/ 22 November 2007

Murdered over a baseball cap

Minutes before being shot dead in an argument over a baseball cap, Godfrey Hendricks challenged his two alleged killers to take the cap from him by force. The two men then fetched a firearm from their car parked nearby. Two shots were fired, leaving Hendricks lying dead on the ground, the Cape High Court heard on Thursday.

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/ 22 November 2007

‘ANC will emerge from conference united’

The African National Congress (ANC)’s December national conference will serve as a springboard to propel the party to new heights, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Thursday. Speaking during the launch of the ANC parliamentary caucus website in Cape Town, Mlambo-Ngcuka said the party would surprise its critics.

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/ 22 November 2007

SA confident of winning mega-telescope bid

A final decision on which country will host the giant Square Kilometre Array radio telescope is now expected in 2011, the Cabinet announced on Thursday. South Africa was confident it would win the bid, government communications head Themba Maseko told a media briefing at Parliament on Thursday, following the Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting the day before.

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/ 22 November 2007

Cabinet: Electricity master plan on the way

Four government departments are collaborating to produce a ”comprehensive electricity master plan” for South Africa, says the Cabinet. Such a plan was long overdue, government communications head Themba Maseko told a media briefing at Parliament on Thursday, following the Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting the day before.

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/ 21 November 2007

New political-offence pardons welcomed

President Thabo Mbeki’s announcement on Wednesday of a ”window of opportunity” for people convicted of alleged political offences before June 16 1999 has been warmly welcomed by most political parties. Pan Africanist Congress leader Motsoko Pheko hailed Mbeki’s announcement as an act of courage against odds.

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/ 21 November 2007

ANC succession battle enters next phase

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>The battle for the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) enters a climactic phase this week with the party’s two leagues and nine provincial branches each nominating their final candidates. With less than a month to go before the ANC elective conference, the nine provinces are to hold special meetings to consolidate nominations.

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/ 21 November 2007

New chance for political offenders

People convicted of alleged political offences before June 16 1999 will be able to apply for a presidential pardon during a three-month ”window of opportunity” from January 15, President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday. He said consideration had been given to using presidential pardons to deal with the so-called ”unfinished business” of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

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/ 21 November 2007

Delmas water investigation focuses on chlorine levels

Failure by authorities to properly treat drinking water supplied to residents of Delmas may have triggered the recent mass outbreak of diarrhoea in the Mpumalanga town. Tests by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry have shown ”insufficient levels” of chlorine were added to the water supply between September 11 and October 14, MPs heard on Wednesday.

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/ 20 November 2007

De Lille consults lawyers over Chaaban

The City of Cape Town’s spy saga took another turn on Tuesday with Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille deciding on legal action against controversial expelled councillor Badih Chaaban. De Lille met police on Tuesday afternoon in connection with the alleged illegal surveillance of politicians in the city.

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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

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

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.