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/ 24 December 2007

Second chance for failing matrics

A national plan is in place to give thousands of matriculants who are not expected to pass this year a second chance, a newspaper reported on Monday. ”Education departments confirmed on Sunday that the plan was being finalised at provincial level,” the report in Beeld said.

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/ 21 December 2007

Simply hanging out at Sabie

Sabie is the undisputed outdoor adventure capital of the Lowveld. There’s an amazing choice of things to do. You can experience the adrenaline rush of the world’s highest cable gorge swing with a 68m freefall. Yihaa! You can go rock climbing, abseiling, spelunking, river-rafting, bungee jumping, quad biking, canoeing, tubing or horse-riding. You can go fly-fishing, sailing, power boating or 4x4ing.

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/ 19 December 2007

A high turnover in ANC cadres

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/327874/livefrompolo.gif" align=left border=0></a>Did the ANC fatten up for the slaughter in Polokwane? An audit of membership statistics suggests the wholesale recruitment of new members to boost the girth of provincial delegations has played — and will play — a role in the outcomes at Limpopo.

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/ 18 December 2007

More than 560 die on SA’s roads

More than 560 people have died on South African roads since the beginning of December, the Department of Transport said on Tuesday. At least 119 people were killed in accidents in Gauteng, 86 in KwaZulu-Natal, 58 in the Western Cape, 70 in the Eastern Cape, 52 in the Free State, 74 in Mpumalanga, 51 in Limpopo and seven in the Northern Cape.

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/ 18 December 2007

Who is the ANC?

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/327874/livefrompolo.gif" align=left border=0></a>Membership of the African National Congress has grown to 620 000 members from 416 000 members in 2002. A national conference, the most powerful gathering of the party, is a perfect opportunity to assess who makes up the ANC. Who is the typical ANC member and what do they believe in?

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/ 16 December 2007

Motlanthe on the Mbeki-Zuma rift

African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe’s organisational report, delivered on Sunday at the party’s national conference in Polokwane — was the first comprehensive admission from a party leader that the factionalism in the party was a result of a power struggle between two personalities: Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.

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/ 13 December 2007

Amakhosi fans hope for magic

No place in South African soccer is more intense, electric and immersed in a downright feverish atmosphere these days than Bloemfontein’s Seisa Ramabodu Stadium when the city’s revered Bloemfontein Celtic cross swords with one of the supposed glamour teams of the Premier Soccer League.

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/ 12 December 2007

Kunene appears in Free State court, case postponed

The IT technician caught up in the hoax-email saga, Muziwendoda Kunene, appeared in the Kestell Magistrate’s Court in the eastern Free State on Wednesday. A court official said the matter was postponed to January 23 2008 for further investigation. ”He is facing a provisional charge of murder and will stay in custody at the Kroonstad Prison.”

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/ 12 December 2007

DJ Sbu caught doing 257km/h

The motorist who was caught doing 257km/h in his silver Audi TT on Sunday night has been named as Ukhozi FM’s DJ Sbu, Talk Radio 702 reported on Wednesday. DJ Sbu, or Sbusiso Leope, appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. He was released on R1 000 bail, Johannesburg metro police said on Wednesday.

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/ 11 December 2007

Kunene in Bethlehem court, case postponed

The man caught up in the national hoax email saga, Muziwendoda Kunene, briefly appeared in the Bethlehem Magistrate’s Court in the Free State on Tuesday. A court official said Kunene’s case was postponed and transferred to the Kestell Magistrate’s Court, where he was expected to appear on Wednesday.

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/ 10 December 2007

De Beers’s R1bn sale of mine moves forward

De Beers Consolidated Mines’s R1-billion sale of its Cullinan diamond mine in Pretoria to the Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium has taken an important step forward with Monday’s announcement that the Department of Minerals and Energy has agreed to convert the old-order mining right held by De Beers into a new-order mining right.

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/ 8 December 2007

SA unknown leads at Leopard Creek

South Africa’s Omar Sandys, a player little known on the international golf stage, carded a four-under-par 68 on Friday to open up a two-shot lead in the €1-million Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club. Tournament favourite and world number five Ernie Els of South Africa was in joint third place.

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/ 6 December 2007

Crime stats: The good, bad and ugly

House robbery, business robbery and truck hijacking increased between April and September this year, the police announced in Pretoria on Thursday. House robbery rose by 7%, business robbery by 29,3%, and truck hijacking by 53,3%. There were 6 711 house robberies in the six months from April to September, up from 6 271 over the same period last year.

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/ 4 December 2007

Rare South China tiger cub born in SA

The first South China tiger cub born in South Africa was shown to the media at the Laohu Valley Reserve in the southern Free State on Tuesday. The cub, not named yet, was born 11 days ago, weighing 1,2kg, and opened his eyes on Monday. The South China tiger is one of the most endangered species in the world.

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/ 3 December 2007

Negligence costs Health Dept millions

Negligence or malpractice at public hospitals has cost the Health Department millions of rands in damages awards over the past few years, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has said. However, such cases are rare exceptions to the usually excellent care provided, she said in a written reply to a parliamentary question by Gareth Morgan of the Democratic Alliance.

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/ 3 December 2007

Swallows continue PSL nosedive

The nosedive of Moroka Swallows continued in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Sunday afternoon as the ailing Birds plunged to a 3-1 home defeat against Jomo Cosmos at the Germiston Stadium. A flurry of three goals in the last five minutes comprehensively sealed Swallows’ fate.

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/ 3 December 2007

Poor oversight fuelling Aids?

A report by the Institute for Security Studies and Transparency International Zimbabwe claims that corruption and poor management are hampering the fight against HIV/Aids. The report, which will be launched on December 12, explores why the massive increase in South Africa’s HIV/Aids funding on a national level has had so little effect in halting the pandemic.

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/ 29 November 2007

State allocates extra R87m for the poor

An extra R87-million has been allocated to help people living in extreme poverty, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said on Thursday. The money was in addition to funds already given to provinces for relief, he told reporters after meeting provincial ministers of social development in Durban.