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/ 6 February 2007

Manto orders probe into Aids-drug trials

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has requested an investigation by the research ethics council following concerns about the health of participants in microbicide clinical trials. In a statement released on Tuesday, Tshabalala-Msimang said she had met with researchers following ”disturbing news” about preliminary results of a study conducted in KwaZulu-Natal.

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/ 6 February 2007

KZN hit by student strikes

The Durban University of Technology and the University of KwaZulu-Natal faced a second day of student boycotts and strikes on Tuesday. The student representative council called for the strike, claiming that management had reneged on a deal to release all 2006 exam results.

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/ 5 February 2007

Sentencing welcomed in Rattray murder case

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government on Monday joined the South African Tourism Services Association in welcoming the conviction and sentencing of the first of the men involved in the David Rattray murder. The sentence given to the man fitted the crime, said KwaZulu-Natal provincial minister of arts and culture Weziwe Thusi.

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/ 5 February 2007

Rattray killer gets 25 years in prison

A South African convicted of the murder of Anglo-Zulu war expert David Rattray was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison. Rattray, a friend of Britain’s Prince Charles and famous for his lively oral accounts of fighting between British troops and Zulu warriors in the 19th century, was shot dead on January 26.

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/ 1 February 2007

Rattray funeral hears plea for end to crime

South Africa’s people are crying out to the nation’s leaders to do ”whatever it takes” to put an end to crime, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said at the funeral of renowned historian David Rattray on Thursday. A six-man gang shot Rattray three times on Friday night in a hold-up at his Fugitive’s Drift lodge.

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/ 30 January 2007

Zuma trial my worst moment, says Makhosini Nkosi

Pleas for his resignation by protesters singing insults at the trial of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma were his ”worst moment” in three years as spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Makhosini Nkosi said on Tuesday. The attacks became personal and worrying when people started saying ”nasty things” to his family, he said.

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/ 30 January 2007

White farmers, black land hunger

The tussle over who has the right to live on and farm some of South Africa’s most fertile soil has taken on an added tension as the government presses ahead with land reforms intended to right past wrongs. But even supporters say the reform is failing, with just 4% of white-owned land transferred so far.

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/ 29 January 2007

Report attacks SA crime and corruption

African governments have warned South Africa that growing corruption, rampant violent crime and xenophobia are undermining confidence in the continent’s largest economy and threaten the stability of post-apartheid democracy. The African Union was expected to hand a report on good governance to President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday night that contains wide-ranging criticisms.

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/ 29 January 2007

Ensuring national and global space for isiZulu

On August 2 last year, the University of KwaZulu-Natal passed its language policy and plan through the university senate. The policy advocates additive bilingualism in English and isiZulu, and supports multilingualism more broadly with respect to Afrikaans, the Indian heritage languages, and languages of strategic importance in Africa and globally.

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/ 28 January 2007

Uproar at Rattray murder

The uproar at the murder of KwaZulu-Natal battlefields historian David Rattray continued into Sunday, with leading businessmen expressing their deep concern at crime in South Africa. The legendary Rattray was attacked and killed at his lodge at Rorke’s Drift on Friday evening. He was instrumental in putting the province’s battlefields on the international tourism map.

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/ 27 January 2007

Battlefields legend David Rattray killed

Legendary tourism personality and Anglo-Zulu War expert David Rattray was attacked and killed at his lodge at Rorke’s Drift on Juanuray 26, KwaZulu-Natal police said. His killer entered his house and fired a single shot before being ordered to re-enter the building to fire another two rounds, according to a source close to the scene.

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/ 25 January 2007

Gauteng waits on date for taxi scrapping

No dates have yet been set for the scrapping of taxis in Gauteng, Transport Department spokesperson Sam Monareng said on Thursday. Dates have also yet to be set for the destruction of old vehicles in the North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, he said. All Monareng could indicate was that dates would be announced ”soon”.

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/ 22 January 2007

Rider Haggard rides again

The swashbuckling colonial novelist remains a persistent feature of many books on Africa. Events are not merely reported, but interpreted through the incredulous eyes of our intrepid ”white man in Africa”. Curiously, this retrograde genre remains extremely popular in South Africa.

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/ 21 January 2007

Minister concerned over closure of farm schools

The KwaZulu-Natal minister for education, Ina Cronje, expressed concern on Sunday over the closure of at least four farm schools in the province. She said her department met on Saturday with the agriculture department’s provincial minister, Mtholephi Mthimkhulu and the members of Congress of South Africa Trade Unions to discuss the farm schools’ problems.

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/ 19 January 2007

Boys hurt as school toilet floor caves in

KwaZulu-Natal education minister Ina Cronje rushed to Mahlabatini Primary School in the Ulundi district on Friday after hearing that the floor of an old toilet block had caved in while nine boys were inside, her department said. The boys, aged between nine and 12, had to be freed from the rubble by an excavating machine.

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/ 18 January 2007

ID names top team for Cape Town

The Independent Democrats (ID) named its top team for the City of Cape Town after it opted this week to be part of the seven-party coalition, led by the Democratic Alliance (DA), which runs the city. At a press conference at Parliament on Thursday, it was announced that the party’s candidate for deputy mayor, to serve as number two to DA mayor Helen Zille, is Charlotte Williams.

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/ 18 January 2007

Lights out for SA

The lights went out in several parts of South Africa on Thursday morning as Eskom carried out load-shedding as its capacity was stretched by a surprise surge in consumption. Power plants failed, including Koeberg nuclear power station’s unit one, when the turbine tripped at 2.18am. ”There is a national alert,” said Eskom spokesperson Tony Stott.

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/ 17 January 2007

Slight decrease in festive-season road deaths

Holiday season traffic deaths and accidents dropped by less than 5% compared with a year ago, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Wednesday. Radebe issued his report on the December 1 to January 10 holiday season traffic at Atteridgeville in Gauteng. The number of fatal accidents dropped by 59 from 1 428 to 1 369 compared with the same time a year ago.

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/ 17 January 2007

Rugby injuries a cause for concern

The number of injuries in the older age groups of schoolboy rugby is on the increase and is a major cause for concern, says former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis. Addressing the 29th Discovery SharkSmart Coaching Conference last week, Du Plessis explained that the age group most at risk is boys 19 years and younger.

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/ 16 January 2007

Media express fears over SAPS restructuring

Several publications on Tuesday expressed fears that the current restructuring of the South African Police Service (SAPS) will severely limit the media’s ability to access information. Up until the restructuring started, media outlets approached designated police officers at area level. However, media organisations have now been told to contact designated officers at a provincial level.