Pretoria

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will launch an appeal against a decision by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development not to release a report on a compensation fund for victims of crime, the party said on Monday. The DA’s Dianne Kohler-Barnard said the department turned down an access to information request for a copy of the report.

Mamelodi Sundowns consoled their fans with a 2-0 victory in their first home Premier League encounter against Wits University at the Super Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was the Brazilians’s first win after a 0-0 draw against newly promoted Amazulu followed by a 1-0 loss midweek against Durban’s Lamontville Golden Arrows.

Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula told provincial ministers of safety on Monday to create space in prisons for violent criminals. Nqakula met with the nine provincial ministers to receive a report from police management on the progress with the six-month plan to crack down on violent crime in the country.

The Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs has formed a national steering committee (NSC) to consider the recommendations of last year’s land summit, Minister Lulu Xingwana said on Thursday. ”The NSC has to date developed and adopted terms of reference to guide its operations,” the minister said at a press briefing in Pretoria on her first 100 days in office.

The Blue Bulls Rugby Union will start a rugby college with the goal being to broaden the basis of underage amateur and professional rugby and to strengthen club rugby in the province. Students will enrol for one or two years with their base being at Loftus Versfeld and will be exposed to the professional coaching and conditioning structures.

South Africa’s smaller cities are growing rapidly while the population growth of the nine major cities is slowing down. These trends were shown in the State of Cities Report 2006 released in Pretoria on Wednesday. Over the last five years the entire urban population has increased faster than the national population.

The Boeremag treason trial may, after more than three years and millions of rands of taxpayers’ money, have to start afresh if two of the accused have their way. Two of the 22 accused, brothers Wilhelm and Johan Pretorius, on Wednesday gave notice that they intended applying for trial Judge Eben Jordaan’s recusal because of alleged bias.

About 1 000 Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) shop stewards gathered outside the United States embassy in Pretoria on Tuesday to demand that the country stop supporting Israel. Although peaceful, the crowd vocally objected when US representatives refused to receive their memorandum outside the embassy compound.

Four armed men robbed three foreigners on their way to a World Health Summit on the R21, Pretoria police said on Monday. Inspector Paul Ramaloko said the three delegates, two men and a woman from France, Germany and Nigeria, were on their way to Pretoria north to attend the summit on Sunday when a Hyundai bumped their Microbus from behind.

A Pretoria High Court judge on Monday refused so-called ”lion killer” Mark Scott-Crossley bail pending the outcome of an appeal against his murder conviction and life sentence. Judge Jerry Shongwe said he was not convinced Scott-Crossley’s conviction was suspect.

The Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs was ”unreasonable” and, ”without good grounds”, wanted to cull birds on the farm of a breeder of exotic birds outside Pretoria, the Pretoria High Court found on Friday. An earlier court decision would have seen birds worth R2-million culled because they might have had avian flu.

The trial of two men implicated in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) hoax e-mail saga will start in November. Software salesperson Muziwendoda Kunene and the NIA’s manager for electronic surveillance Funokwakhe Madladla stand accused of fraud relating to the hoax e-mails.

Evidence will be presented that Dirk Prinsloo, former lover of Cezanne Visser, followed a consistent pattern of abusive behaviour towards women, the Pretoria High Court heard on Thursday. Prinsloo’s former wife and girlfriend will be called to testify how he behaved towards them.

Grade 11 pupils will write a nationally set end-of-year examination in 2007 to prepare them for the new National Senior Certificate (matric) exams to be introduced in 2008, the Department of Education said on Tuesday. Schools have already received a national examination for Grade 10 pupils this year, but it will only be used as example for teachers to set exams.

Police helicopters are to be fitted with airborne surveillance systems from Denel, the state-owned arms company said on Tuesday. ”This virtual ‘eye in the sky’ system will allow the South African Police Service to deploy their helicopters for all-weather and day and night crime prevention,” said Sam Basch, Denel’s spokesperson.

South Africans had nothing to do with the alleged coup plot in Burundi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Tuesday. Speaking a day after the Burundian Supreme Court refused an application by the alleged plotters to be released, Pahad denied any South African involvement in the plot.

South Africa will not take up the role of mediator in the peace process between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Tuesday. Pahad said South Africa received a letter from the LRA last week asking it to mediate the process.

Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Lindiwe Hendricks hopes to have a ”lean and mean” department when she leaves office. ”I hope to leave behind a lean and mean and much smaller department that is clearly focused on its role as sector leader for forestry and water,” she told journalists on Monday after her first 90 days in office.

South Africa suffered yet another injury blow ahead of their Tri-Nations Test against New Zealand in Pretoria on Saturday when loose forward Joe van Niekerk was ruled out. The Springboks have already lost International Rugby Board 2004 Player of the Year Schalk Burger to a career-threatening neck injury and in-form Juan Smith went down in midweek with a thigh strain.

Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota on Thursday sacked Brigadier General Ernest Zwane from his position as director of military prosecutions. This comes after it became known that Zwane has previously been convicted on two counts of fraud and was also convicted of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Twenty-five striking cleaners were arrested at a Pretoria railway station after forcibly undressing a woman who was on her way home on Wednesday, police said. Inspector Anton Breedt said the striking cleaners were at Rissik station at about 2pm when the woman — apparently not a cleaner — arrived to take the train home.