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/ 26 September 2007
Police believe that a Canadian couple, found burnt beyond recognition in KwaZulu-Natal’s northern Drakensberg mountains on Wednesday, died in a veld fire. Spokesperson Superintendent Piet Scott said the couple went for a walk on Thursday and never returned.
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/ 26 September 2007
The case against two men and a woman accused of abducting and murdering five women whose bodies were found in sugar-cane fields on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast was on Wednesday remanded to October 10. The initial appearance of the three was heard in camera, on request from the state.
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/ 25 September 2007
Young people must be taught how to resolve conflict in a non-violent way, the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (Nicro) said on Tuesday. The country was presently gripped by a wave of teenage violence ”which defied any reason”, the institute said.
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/ 25 September 2007
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Public Protector to complain about the Health Department’s advertisements placed in various newspapers last week to protest against a judge’s failure to interdict the Sunday Times over its reports on the medical records of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
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/ 24 September 2007
Respecting the diversity of all cultures and living in the spirit of ubuntu were highlighted at Gauteng’s Heritage Day celebrations.
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/ 24 September 2007
Five people have been arrested in connection with the murder of five women whose decomposing bodies were found in a sugar-cane field on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, police said on Monday. In Stanger, one person was arrested on Sunday evening. A further four people were arrested at a house in Chatsworth on Monday.
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/ 24 September 2007
A man suspected to be the Umzinto serial killer has been arrested in Chatsworth, south of Durban, media reports said on Monday. The man allegedly strangled five women and dumped their bodies in a sugar plantation at Shayamoya on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.
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/ 23 September 2007
Golden Arrows beat Orlando Pirates 2-1 in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) clash at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Saturday. There was no score at half-time. Amazulu registered their second win of the PSL season when they beat Black Leopards 2-1 in scorching heat at Giyani Stadium, Thohoyandou.
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/ 23 September 2007
A school pupil was stabbed and killed after an argument with another pupil during an end-of-term outing in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape police said on Saturday. Pupils from the Thembelihle High School had gathered at Kings Beach to celebrate the end of the school term on Friday when an argument broke out.
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/ 20 September 2007
The controversial Constitution 13th Amendment Bill was passed in the National Assembly on Thursday, despite opposition from the Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party, among others. The Bill seeks to realign certain provincial borders to avoid municipal boundaries straddling them.
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/ 19 September 2007
The special investigating unit (SIU) on Wednesday confirmed it is investigating thousands of government officials believed to have fraudulently received housing subsidies. In its initial findings, the SIU identified 53 000 public servants receiving housing subsidies, for which more than 31 000 did not qualify.
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/ 19 September 2007
Floor-crossing politicians managed to shift the majority party in control in 12 of the country’s 128 municipalities during the two-week crossing period, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Wednesday. The African National Congress gained the most councillors, the IEC figures showed.
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/ 19 September 2007
Scores of African scientists will be trained to develop crops for Africa’s conditions under a programme launched on Wednesday which is also aimed at keeping their expertise at home. Most African crop scientists have been educated at European or United States universities, and many stay there after graduation.
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/ 17 September 2007
Four people appeared in the Manguzi Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with the murder of two women accused of bewitching a northern KwaZulu-Natal school. Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Mdletshe said police had conducted an ”operation” that resulted in 13 people being taken into custody last week.
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/ 17 September 2007
As opposition parties called for urgent action to address the ”crisis” of HIV infection in babies attending state hospitals, the Health Department took steps on Monday to get to the bottom of the matter. The department was concerned at media reports ”alleging there have been cases of HIV infection as a result of inadequate infection-control measures”.
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/ 17 September 2007
Police are confident that they are close to making a breakthrough in the case of the alleged KwaZulu-Natal South Coast serial killer who has strangled five women and left their bodies scattered in a sugarcane field. Police spokesperson Zandra Hechter said a key witness in the investigation had apparently sat next to the alleged killer on a minibus taxi.
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/ 14 September 2007
The former deputy to South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the minister deliberately undercut her efforts to tackle chronic illness in the HIV/Aids-ravaged country. Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge said Msimang sabotaged her work in the department.
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/ 13 September 2007
A fifth badly decomposed body of a woman has been found in a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) sugar-cane field, police said on Thursday. ”We suspect the woman was about 18 to 35 years of age,” said police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Hechter. The body was found on Thursday afternoon.
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/ 13 September 2007
The citings and subsequent bans of both Schalk Burger and England captain Phil Vickery have raised a worrying trend at the Rugby World Cup in France.
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/ 13 September 2007
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) gets going this Sunday after the major leagues of the world came to a halt for international friendlies and continental qualifying games. On Sunday, five games will be played around the country. The pick of the bunch is SuperSport United hosting Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
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/ 13 September 2007
Three men convicted of raping three Durban women at a beach house on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast were on Thursday sentenced to five life sentences each in the Scottburgh High Court. Sithembiso Shelembe (23), Mthokozisi Mbambo (30) and Wonder Mchunu (27) will only be considered for parole after 25 years.
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/ 12 September 2007
Three men accused of raping three Durban women at a Pennington beach house on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast were found guilty in the Scottburgh High Court on Wednesday. The three were found guilty of five counts of rape. They were also found guilty of indecent assault and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
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/ 12 September 2007
Mpumalanga and North West have spent R166-million on strike recovery measures, Education Minister Naledi Pandor told the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday. Replying to oral questions, Pandor said Mpumalanga had spent R96-million on teacher remuneration for Saturday and holiday classes.
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/ 11 September 2007
There has been much speculation that South Africa’s nine provinces could be downscaled to administrative hubs because of their apparent inefficiency and ineffectiveness. I believe this is a knee-jerk reaction, not a solution, to the present malaise. My party and I have always believed that South Africa is simply too large and diverse to be administered as a unitary state, writes president of the Inkatha Freedom Party Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
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/ 8 September 2007
Two foreign tourists were arrested and later released on warning for taking photographs without approval at the Zulu royal reed dance at kwaNongoma in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reports. Organisers said that a man and a woman had failed to obey rules made to protect the participants and retain the dignity of the ceremony.
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/ 7 September 2007
Jealousy may have been at the centre of the murder of two women accused of bewitching a northern KwaZulu-Natal school, a teachers’ union reported on Friday. National Teachers’ Union spokesperson Allen Thompson said investigations by the union had revealed that one of the women burnt to death last Monday had a granddaughter at Manhlenga High School.
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/ 7 September 2007
Niren Tolsi speaks to writer and culture producer Peter Machen about his new book on Durban.
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/ 6 September 2007
”Regardless of the BEE types’ penchant for emaciated white girls whose figures might be attributed to the sort of galloping bulimia offensive to any self-respecting peasant living below the bread line, it is time to ensure transformation occurs at all levels of society. Including the air-heads,” writes Niren Tolsi.
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/ 5 September 2007
Youths who allegedly burnt two 60-year old women to death over a witchcraft claim are believed to have received the assistance from the local community, police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Jabulani Mdletshe said police believed the double murder was pre-planned and that residents from the Manguzi area in northern KwaZulu-Natal had assisted.
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/ 5 September 2007
The Pan African Congress (PAC) on Wednesday became the first casualty of the floor-crossing season as its former deputy president launched a new party. Themba Godi announced the launch of the African People’s Convention (APC) at a hotel near Kempton Park. APC spokesperson Mafemane Maringa said the party had been joined by 40 councillors.
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/ 5 September 2007
South Africa’s most wanted ATM suspect has been linked to nine ATM bombings across the country so far, police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Captain Thulani Zwane said he had been linked to nine bombings in areas including Vereeniging and Soweto in Gauteng and northern KwaZulu-Natal.
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/ 5 September 2007
The KwaZulu-Natal department of education has sent a ward manager to Manhlenga High School to investigate a report that its pupils were suspected of setting two women alight over a witchcraft claim. Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Mdletshe said a huge group of youths had dragged the women from their home to a sports field.