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/ 15 November 2007

Policeman fights for life after mall shoot-out

A Durban policeman is undergoing emergency surgery after he was shot twice in the chest while trying to apprehend armed robbers fleeing a crime scene, police said on Thursday. Four armed robbers hit the Beverley Jewellery store at the Pavilion mall in Westville at about 10am and Detective Andre Mostert of the Berea police station intervened.

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/ 15 November 2007

Matatiele residents march on Maritzburg

Matatiele residents were set to march through Pietermaritzburg on Thursday to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in protest over their incorporation into the Eastern Cape. Matatiele-Maluti Mass Action Organising Committee chairperson Mandla Galo said that at least 45 minibus taxis had transported residents to Pietermaritzburg.

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/ 14 November 2007

Durban braces for 2010 draw

Confirmation that the Soccer World Cup has arrived on the shores of Africa is little more than a week away. The reality for many in the soccer fraternity will only sink in when they watch the preliminary draw beaming out from Durban’s International Convention Centre to television screens across the world.

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/ 12 November 2007

Seven-year-old boy beheaded for R20 000

Three people have been arrested after a seven-year KwaZulu-Natal boy was beheaded for R20 000 in what is believed to be a muti transaction, KwaDabeka police said on Monday. Police spokesperson Captain Bongani Khomo said the incident has left police officers and the Clermont community in shock.

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/ 9 November 2007

Durban stadium strike not over

Hundreds of construction workers striking at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium began dispersing on Friday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said. Msi Poswa, the NUM’s regional organiser and chief negotiator, said tired protesters were told by the union they could return home. ”They will regroup on Monday,” he said.

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/ 8 November 2007

KwaZulu-Natal mayor found dead in car wreck

The 37-year-old mayor of a KwaZulu-Natal South Coast municipality was killed in a car crash, police said on Thursday. Police spokesperson Zandra Hechter said Mfundo Lushaba, the mayor of Umzumbe, was found dead in his Toyota Hilux double-cab about 10m from the Ifafa offramp on the N2 near the resort town of Hibberdene.

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/ 8 November 2007

Stadium consortium interdicts striking workers

The Group Five-WBHO Consortium on Thursday obtained a Labour Court interdict preventing construction workers from entering the site where Durban’s Moses Mabhida 2010 Soccer World Cup Stadium is being built. The interdict followed an incident in the morning when two security guards were chased off the building site by striking workers.

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/ 8 November 2007

Rainy weather grounds fireworks

Cold, rainy conditions are expected to lessen the number of firework injuries on animals and people during Diwali this year, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said on Thursday. ”It seems the weather is not conducive for setting off fireworks,” said the SPCA’s spokesperson for Pietermaritzburg, Maureen Vida.

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/ 5 November 2007

Durban World Cup stadium strike looms

Union representatives and management of the company contracted to build Durban’s 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium will meet on Tuesday in a last-ditch attempt to avert a strike that would halt construction at the stadium. The National Union of Mineworkers is demanding project bonuses of R1 500 a month for each worker.

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/ 2 November 2007

Shaka Zulu star Henry Cele dies

Actor Henry Cele, famous for his role as Shaka Zulu, died in Durban’s St Augustine’s Hospital on Friday afternoon. The 58-year old actor passed away in the intensive-care unit of the hospital, a statement released by the hospital said. He had been admitted to the hospital more than a week ago with a chest infection.

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/ 2 November 2007

Sharks say goodbye to Smit, James

A chapter in Sharks rugby closed on Thursday evening as the team bid farewell to two players who have served with distinction. John Smit and Butch James are taking up contracts to play in France and England respectively, and on Thursday evening were honoured for their contributions to rugby in KwaZulu-Natal.

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/ 31 October 2007

DA: ANC ignores wishes of the people of Matatiele

KwaZulu-Natal opposition parties on Wednesday accused the ruling African National Congress of ignoring the wishes of the residents of Matatiele and forging ahead with the district’s incorporation into the Eastern Cape. The Democratic Alliance (DA) accused the ANC of ”totally ignoring the wishes of the people of Matatiele Maluti”.

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/ 31 October 2007

Male ARV recipient develops breasts

A 42-year-old Mpumalanga man has developed breasts after he was enrolled in the government’s antiretroviral (ARV) treatment programme, a media report said on Wednesday. The resident of Standerton’s Sakhile township said doctors and nurses at Standerton’s TB hospital had refused to listen to him.

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/ 30 October 2007

Thousands attend Matatiele demarcation hearings

More than 3 000 people packed the local soccer stadium in Matatiele as the second day of public hearings on the region’s controversial incorporation into the Eastern Cape started on Tuesday. Matatiele was incorporated into the Eastern Cape on February 28, hours before voting started in the local government election of 2006.

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/ 29 October 2007

Body-parts accused pleads guilty

A KwaZulu-Natal woman accused of stealing a placenta pleaded guilty to the crime at the Durban Regional Court on Monday. Hloniphile Sokhela was charged with theft and contravening the Human Tissue Act. The mother of two stole a placenta from a storage room at Parklands Hospital on October 6.