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/ 2 June 2008

No date yet for JSC meeting on Hlophe

No date has yet been fixed for the Judicial Services Commission’s (JSC) meeting to consider new allegations against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, the JSC’s secretary said late on Monday. ”Right now they are still trying to find a date,” said commission secretary Vuyelwa Masangwana.

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/ 28 May 2008

Death toll from bus crash stands at 22, say cops

The death toll for the Eastern Cape bus crash stood at 22, including five children, police announced on Wednesday. The bus — which belongs to a private bus company — careened down a 200m embankment into a river near the town of Cedarville on Tuesday. During the course of the day, there were conflicting reports of how many people had been killed, ranging from 20 to 30.

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/ 26 May 2008

Mozambicans flee over the border

Mozambique has received nearly 20 000 citizens fleeing South Africa, said Deputy Foreign Minister Henrique Banze, adding that the government there had set up three reception centres around the capital Maputo. He denied reports that the Mozambican government had declared a state of emergency.

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/ 24 May 2008

VIP driver punched after accident on the N3

A motorcyclist punched a KwaZulu-Natal VIP driver on Saturday afternoon after the driver had crashed into the back of another car, seriously injuring its occupant. KwaZulu-Natal transport spokesperson Rajen Chinaboo said road traffic inspectorate officials at the scene reported that there ”had been some sort of altercation”.

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/ 23 May 2008

‘Deliberate effort’ behind attacks

South Africa’s security chief on Friday accused rightwingers linked to the former apartheid government of fanning xenophobic violence that has spread to Cape Town, the second largest city and tourist centre. At least 42 people have been killed and thousands driven from their homes in 12 days of attacks.

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/ 23 May 2008

May 23 to 29 2008

The machete generation The machine gun and machete generation has arrived. The age of terror and idiocy is upon us. These marauding gangs embrace and glorify violence as a solution to our social ills. They feed on propaganda and exploit people’s fears. I first saw them in Kenya’s Rift Valley. They come under different guises […]

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/ 22 May 2008

Gauteng ‘quiet’ as attacks abate

Attacks on foreigners in Gauteng seem to have abated, with police reporting that the situation has been ”quiet” since Wednesday evening. The anti-foreigner attacks broke out in Alexandra last Sunday and have since spread across the province and now into Mpumalanga, the North West and KwaZulu-Natal.

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/ 22 May 2008

ANC on xenophobia: Cops acted too slowly

African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe on Thursday said the police responded too slowly to the first xenophobic attacks in Alexandra. This came as it was reported that anti-foreigner violence had spread to North West. More than 40 people have been killed since the outbreak of xenophobic attacks on May 12.

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/ 21 May 2008

Gauteng says attacks on the wane

The xenophobic attacks in Gauteng appeared to have subsided, a provincial spokesperson said on Wednesday. However, KwaZulu-Natal police are monitoring a possible outbreak of attacks there. ”There are no new reports of attacks,” said Thabo Masebe, deputy director of communications for the provincial government.

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/ 21 May 2008

Metrorail on high alert for attacks

Metrorail has beefed up security in response to possible xenophobic attacks on train commuters, it said on Wednesday. ”Our own protection services, the South African railway police and contracted security staff have been beefed up in response to the perceived threat and in support of our security plan,” the company said in a statement.

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/ 18 May 2008

Sharks surge into semifinals

The target for a Super 14 rugby semifinal berth for the Sharks was clear — a bonus-point victory initially or a win by 18 points or more — as they took to the field against the Chiefs of New Zealand at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday night. In the end, it was a convincing triumph as the necessary tries were secured and surpassed.

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/ 16 May 2008

Ruling on Erasmus commission reserved

A full bench of judges on Friday reserved a ruling on the bid by the City of Cape Town and the Democratic Alliance (DA) to quash the Erasmus commission. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool to probe the DA-led city’s investigation of renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.

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/ 16 May 2008

SuperSport and Ajax teach the rest a lesson

Regardless of how they fare in this weekend’s final matches of the football season, SuperSport United and Ajax Cape Town have a lot to be proud of. Both have had a season made in heaven. Considering that both lost influential coaches — SuperSport’s Pitso Mosimane joined the national team brains trust and Ajax’s Muhsin Ertugral went to Kaizer Chiefs — they were expected to struggle.

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/ 15 May 2008

Erasmus commission battle goes to court

Having a judge head the politically loaded Erasmus commission undermined the principle of separation of powers, lawyers for the City of Cape Town and the Democratic Alliance argued on Thursday. The city and the party have asked the court to quash the commission to probe the legality of the city’s spying on renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.

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/ 15 May 2008

Zuma to fight charges

African National Congress president Jacob Zuma will not stand trial on August 4, instead he will be seeking to have the decision to charge him declared unlawful. The legal teams of Zuma and his co-accused met the National Prosecuting Authority and the KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala on Thursday to finalise a court date.

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/ 14 May 2008

Youth parliaments to celebrate Madiba’s birthday

In celebration of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday this year, youth parliaments will be held across the country, it was announced at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Speaking at the announcement was NMCF chief executive Sibongile Mkhabela and the former president’s daughter, Zinzi, who is a trustee of the fund.

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/ 11 May 2008

‘Golden point’ for Thanda Royal Zulu

It was described by their officials as a point ”worth its weight in gold” after relegation-embattled Thanda Royal Zulu had drawn 1-1 with Santos in Hammarsdale on Sunday afternoon. And when it comes to splashing out nuggets of gold, the team whose ownership is embedded in Swedish connections is not averse to buying success.