Cape Town

South Africa’s tourism-marketing efforts are paying off in ”very concrete terms”, with statistics showing there had been a nearly 16% tourism spike in the period January to July 2006, compared with the corresponding period in 2005, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on Tuesday.

Businessman Tokyo Sexwale has rejected as ”kite-flying” reports that he had been asked to run for the position of African National Congress president. ”The articles are spurious,” he said through a spokesperson on Monday. ”They are kite-flying, nothing more than a red herring, and we treat them with disdain.”

The selectors have named an unchanged squad for the three-Test series against Pakistan, which starts with the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday. Convenor of selectors Haroon Lorgat said on Saturday that he was very pleased with the way South Africa had performed in the last two Tests against India. South Africa won the series two-one.

United States talk-show host Oprah Winfrey on Saturday promised to give free Aids testing, counselling and — if necessary — treatment to the 152 girls chosen for her new school in South Africa. Hoping to encourage more openness about the disease underwent an HIV test herself to persuade the new pupils at her new Leadership Academy for Girls to follow suit.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has asked Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla to speedily process the presidential-pardon applications of 384 Inkatha Freedom Party associates in prison. SAHRC CEO Tseliso Thipanyane said on Friday the commission found the minister violated the applicants’ rights because they had not yet been processed.

Robben Island was chosen as a prison for Nelson Mandela because of its isolation. These days it’s a tourist attraction — but reaching it over the past week has become almost as difficult as escape once was, due to mechanical problems and bad weather. ”Next ferry, January 13,” read a sign at the ticket counter on Thursday morning.

The proposed release of 62 former death-row prison inmates is outrageous, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) spokesperson Sybil Seaton said on Thursday. The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday that eight prisoners who were formerly on death row will be freed this month.

India made their best start of the series in the decisive third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands Tuesday. India were 61 for no wicket at lunch. The new opening pair of Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik batted soundly after captain Rahul Dravid won the toss.

India won the toss and decided to bat in the series-deciding third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands on Tuesday. India suffered a blow when wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was ruled out because of an injury to his right middle finger that he suffered during the second Test in Durban.

Lack of oxygen has killed about 56 tonnes of fish in the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve where nutrients have gradually built up over 30 years, the City of Cape Town said. High nutrient levels combined with calm conditions and hot weather had led to high bacterial activity which depleted oxygen in the water, said acting nature conservation manager Dalton Gibbs.

As grade 12 pupils around the country brace themselves ahead of the release of the 2006 matric results on Thursday, theirs will not be the only eyes poring over the outcome of the all-important examinations. Given South Africa’s massive skills shortage, particularly in the fields of science and technology, big business and the government are also likely to be keenly scrutinising the scores.

The Rietvlei Wetland Reserve has been closed after thousands of dead fish washed up on its banks, the City of Cape Town said on Wednesday. ”More than 10 tons of fish are estimated to have washed up along the 3km banks of the wetland water,” said spokesperson Dalton Gibbs. Test results are expected on Thursday from the city’s scientific services.

President Thabo Mbeki on Friday rubbished suggestions South Africa will fail to successfully stage the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. The truth is South Africa is way ahead in preparations for hosting a successful tournament, he said in his last weekly newsletter for 2006 on the African National Congress website.

The African National Congress (ANC) and its alliance formations are themselves largely sidelined from policymaking, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has argued in its end-of-year report. Spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement issued on Thursday evening that political power resides in the Presidency.

The Zimbabwean who tried to hijack a South African Airways (SAA) flight from Cape Town earlier this year is a ”paranoid delusional” and should be sent home for treatment, a psychiatrist has recommended. The recommendation was contained in a report handed in on Thursday to the Bellville Regional Court, where Tinashe Rioga (21) made another brief appearance.

The City of Cape Town has called on residents to save water in the light of the soaring summer temperatures, the city’s Water Demand Management Services said on Thursday. Spokesperson Danie Kloppers said the city had passed two new by-laws this year aimed at promoting permanent good water-management practices.

The police have not identified any suspect in their search for the killers of Cape theatre personality Taliep Petersen, spokesperson Superintendent Billy Jones said on Wednesday. He was commenting after a media report that investigators on Tuesday questioned Petersen’s wife Najwa and stepson Achmat Gameldien for a second day in succession.