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/ 13 December 2005

‘Hoax e-mail’ court bid put on ice

An application for the setting aside of an arrest warrant for an information technology consultant implicated in an alleged National Intelligence Agency hoax e-mail scam was put on ice on Tuesday. The application was removed from the Pretoria High Court’s urgent roll by consent of all the parties involved.

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/ 13 December 2005

Virginity testing may soon be banned custom

South Africa is set to ban the age-old Zulu custom of virginity testing on young girls, even though traditionalists have vowed to disregard the new measure. The tradition, which involves the inspection of girls’ genitalia, has drawn an outcry from human rights advocates who say it is an invasion of privacy and degrading towards women.

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/ 13 December 2005

Dolphins beat Warriors by three wickets

In an exciting finish, the Nashua Dolphins beat the Mercedes Warriors by three wickets with five balls to spare in a Standard Bank Cup cricket match at Mercedes-Benz Park in East London on Monday. Everything seemed to be going the Warriors’ way until the advent of Dolphins skipper Lance Klusener.

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/ 13 December 2005

Vilakazi will go to African Nations Cup

The grim reality of facing a charge of rape will not result in Orlando Pirates midfield dynamo Benedict Vilakazi being declared ineligible for the African Nations Cup tournament. ”The decision was left to the coach,” said South African Football Association CEO Raymond Hack. ”Safa decided not to interfere with his decision.”

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/ 13 December 2005

‘Screamer’ shown the door by Bafana

Squirming and defiant to the end, controversial Bafana Bafana general manager Stanley ”Screamer” Tshabalala has been removed from his position with the national team for the forthcoming African Nations Cup tournament in Egypt. The decision was confirmed on Monday by South African Football Association CEO Raymond Hack.

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/ 13 December 2005

Kasrils travels to Harare to fetch SA spy

Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils is on his way to Zimbabwe to fetch a South African agent jailed there for spying on the ruling Zanu-PF. ”Yes, Minister Kasrils is on his way to Johannesburg International airport now. He will probably board a flight at about 10am,” his spokesperson Lorna Daniels said on Tuesday.

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/ 13 December 2005

Sanlam confirms R600m settlement cost

Sanlam, one of South Africa’s largest life insurers, on Monday confirmed the cost to it of the announced joint settlement agreement between the life-insurance industry and National Treasury at R600-million (pre-tax). Sanlam CEO Johan van Zyl earlier on Monday said that the post-tax cost would be R500-million.

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/ 13 December 2005

Khutsong: ‘Wheels in motion’ ahead of decision

Parliament will have an attentive audience on Wednesday when residents of Merafong municipality gather to hear the result of their demand to remain part of Gauteng province. On Monday, a protest march ended in the handing over of a memorandum calling for the proposal that Merafong be incorporated into North West to be withdrawn.

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/ 12 December 2005

Two children die in Pola Park shack fire

Two children died in Pola Park east of Johannesburg on Monday after their mother’s ex-boyfriend allegedly set fire to the shack they were sleeping in, police said. The man, in his 40s, had an argument with the children’s mother while she was with her boyfriend in a shack at the Britti squatter camp on Sunday night, police said.

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/ 12 December 2005

Showjumping goes to Soweto

Having carved a niche as South Africa’s first black showjumper in a sport traditionally reserved for rich whites, Enos Mafokate has now taken his love for horses to the heart of Soweto township. Mafokate is cultivating the hope that township children will one day too fly high the colours of South Africa’s rainbow nation.

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/ 12 December 2005

Titans return to top of the table

The Titans jumped back to the top of the Standard Bank Cup table after stuttering to an exciting two-wicket win over the luckless Cape Cobras at Supersport Park on Sunday. The visitors now prop up the bottom of the log without a win in five outings. Set a small target of 171, the Titans got off to a cautious start.

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/ 12 December 2005

Brits ends year on a high

Okkert Brits, the South African pole-vault champion and record holder, recorded his best height of 2005 at a special pole-vault contest in Bellville over the weekend when he cleared an excellent 5,65m. It was his first competition since winning the national title in Durban in April with a modest 5,2m.

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/ 12 December 2005

Ernie Els back on top

In only his second tournament following a five-month injury break, Ernie Els returned to the winner’s enclosure at the Dunhill Championship on Sunday. Els may have coughed and spluttered through the early rounds at the par-72 Leopard Creek golf course this week, but class and experience told in the final round.

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/ 12 December 2005

Cabinet will live to regret Gautrain, warns DA

The decision by the Cabinet to go ahead with the R20-billion Gautrain project will be a decision that in all likelihood it will live to regret, the Democratic Alliance spokesperson on transport, Stuart Farrow, said on Sunday. The parliamentary portfolio committee on transport’s concerns seem to have been ignored, he said.

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/ 12 December 2005

Fuel crisis: Airport slowly recovers

Flight schedules at Cape Town International airport might be running on time again from Monday morning, South African Airways said on Sunday evening after many flights were delayed at the weekend due to a lack of jet fuel. Meanwhile, Cape Town and Johannesburg motorists have been warned to fill up with petrol while they can.

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/ 11 December 2005

Zuma accuser’s home trashed

The Durban home of the 31-year-old woman who has accused former deputy president Jacob Zuma of raping her was broken into and trashed days after he was formally charged, City Press reported on Sunday. Kwa-Mashu police confirmed they are investigating the incident.

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/ 11 December 2005

Dynamos beat high-riding Ajax

Dynamos earned three valuable points when they beat high-riding Ajax Cape Town one-nil at a windy Athlone Stadium on Saturday night. The only goal was scored in the 35th minute. Ajax were all over the visitors but poor passing and shooting saw them finish goalless.

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/ 11 December 2005

One each for Bucks, Swallows

Bush Bucks and Moroka Swallows shared the points with a one-all draw in their Premier Soccer League match in East London on Saturday. It was a game of two halves, with the first half belonging to the Birds, who raided the Bucks’ goal mouth but failed to finish, with Mamecheick Niang and Dennis Lotter the main culprits.