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/ 5 February 2005
American animal behaviourist Kirk Turner and South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research are establishing a dog training centre in the dusty district of Brits outside the capital, Pretoria, to explore the theory that dogs, with their superior olfactory systems, can sniff out cancer in humans more accurately than machines.
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/ 4 February 2005
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has expressed shock and dismay at continuing assertions that condoms ”don’t work” as a means of preventing the spread of HIV. Secretary general Molefe Tsele said the SACC believes that all credible scientific studies conclude that the virus that causes Aids cannot pass through a latex condom.
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/ 4 February 2005
South Africa’s largest union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), and its counterpart, the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), have threatened demonstrations including blockades of all borders to Zimbabwe. This comes after the leaders of Cosatu and the ZCTU met on Thursday in South Africa.
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/ 4 February 2005
Political parties on Friday welcomed Deutsche Bank’s move to sell 25% of its South African operations to empowerment groups. African National Congress spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said the decision shows the bank believes local players can add value to the business.
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/ 4 February 2005
Western Areas, in partnership with Vancouver Placer Dome, on Friday commissioned the world’s deepest single drop shaft, South Deep, near Westonaria, 40km south-west of Johannesburg. The main shaft is the deepest in the world at 2Â 991,5m — nearly 3km. The shaft gives direct access to one of the world’s largest identified gold-ore reserves.
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/ 4 February 2005
Eleven children were seriously injured when a bus on its way to a local school overturned between Wartburg and Dalton on Friday, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
About 32 children were slightly injured and were taken to hospital for treatment. Approximately 10 children were unharmed.
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/ 4 February 2005
The student representative council (SRC) of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) on Friday condemned what it said are financial aid policies aimed at excluding poorer students. The SRC demands the immediate registration ”of all academically deserving students who need financial aid”.
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/ 4 February 2005
President Thabo Mbeki has praised world leaders who were at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, last month, for committing to be ”part of the generation that eliminates extreme poverty” in Africa and the world. Mbeki led a South African delegation that attended the meeting at the end of January.
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/ 4 February 2005
Portions of South Africa’s media are failing in their role as watchdogs, and seem ”extremely reluctant to bark these days”, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said on Friday. He singled out the South African Broadcasting Corporation for particular criticism, calling it a ”virtual propaganda arm” of the African National Congress.
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/ 4 February 2005
Two armed men left a gun behind after robbing an adult store in Springs, east of Johannesburg, of DVDs, videos, magazines and cash on Wednesday, police said on Friday. Police spokesperson Inspector Thomlyn Jacobs said police found an unlicensed 9mm firearm loaded with live ammunition on a chair.
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/ 4 February 2005
Further allegations of police incompetence arose in the Pretoria High Court sex-crimes trial of advocates Dirk Prinsloo and Cezanne Visser on Friday. Prinsloo’s advocate, Piet Coetzee, questioned senior superintendent Rudi van Olst about several aspects of the search and seizure at the couple’s Raslouw, Pretoria, home and their arrest in 2002.
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/ 4 February 2005
Still feeling too sick to go on with his trial, lion murder accused Richard ”Doctor” Mathebula (41) on Friday asked the Phalaborwa Circuit Court for time to recover from the chest pains that have plagued him this week. ”This morning, I tried to consult with my client. He was not in a position to give me proper instructions,” said Mathebula’s counsel, Mathews Kekana.
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/ 4 February 2005
Goran Ivanisevic, the handsome Croatian who has been turning heads since he arrived in the Mother City on Monday, has a chance to record a career ”first” when he plays German Michael Stich in the opening match of the Cape Town Grand Champions 2005 tournament at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Friday.
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/ 4 February 2005
World number six gold-miner Harmony Gold on Friday said it intends to serve its unions and staff associations with notices of compulsory restructuring over the next two weeks. Harmony said it will be issuing Section 189 notifications, which will result in the start of the legally required 60-day review period.
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/ 4 February 2005
De Beers Consolidated Mines will most certainly start its planned job cuts in Koffiefontein. The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> reported three weeks ago that the diamond miner planned to cut 1 400 jobs in its South African operations. The Koffiefontein mine is located in the southern Free State and employs 795 people.
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/ 3 February 2005
Cobras and green mambas endanger the lives of children at a ”jungle school” in KwaZulu-Natal, the principal complained on Thursday. ”You can’t leave your teaching aids in the classes because the monkeys run in and destroy everything,” said Anastacia Mhlongo, principal of Engweni Primary School in the Dukuduku forest near Mtubatuba.
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/ 3 February 2005
South Africans interviewed in a survey on education had some disagreeable things to say, with about two-thirds of respondents agreeing education is in crisis and standards are falling. Asked if schools are better today than 10 years ago, 48% agreed, 46% disagreed and 6% did not know.
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/ 3 February 2005
SA Rugby bosses and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee executive emerged full of smiles from talks on Thursday, adamant that common ground had been reached. ”I think this was an excellent meeting — it was long overdue,” said SA Rugby president Brian van Rooyen.
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/ 3 February 2005
The African National Congress says the so-called "Travelgate" probe into the misuse of MPs’ travel vouchers has been carried out in a "vindictive" and "unplanned" manner. But the official opposition Democratic Alliance says the ruling party wants to "smear the Scorpions" and "obscure the culpability" of MPs.
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/ 3 February 2005
All 22 members of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association (PMA) have agreed to adhere to their published medicine prices even though there is disagreement over whether they are legally obliged to do so, the PMA said on Thursday. The PMA is currently working to have all its members’ single exit prices on its website.
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/ 3 February 2005
The South African gold-mining industry has been in a period of decline over the past 10 years and further consolidation of the sector is a logical move, such as the proposed merger of Harmony and Gold Fields, Harmony chief executive Bernard Swanepoel said on Thursday.
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/ 3 February 2005
Beggars at major intersections in Johannesburg were pulled off the streets on Thursday by the Johannesburg Metro Police in a crackdown forming part of Operation Token Days, which targets the breaking of by-laws. Loud voices, screaming and sirens made a telephone conversation with a metro police spokesperson virtually impossible.
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/ 3 February 2005
A child complainant in the sex-crimes trial of Pretoria advocates Cezanne Visser and Dirk Prinsloo had confessed to attempting blackmail others in the past, the high court heard on Thursday. Prinsloo’s advocate Piet Coetzee asked investigating officer Captain Carel Cornelius whether he was aware the girl had previously laid a charge against other people.
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/ 3 February 2005
Five people were critically injured and at least 20 hurt when a tornado whipped through the town of Klipplaat near Jansenville in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday evening. ”The town looks like Baghdad. It’s dead. There was wind, rain, hail coming from all four corners,” Iqwezi municipality councillor Mannetjie Blouw said.
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/ 3 February 2005
Defence counsel for three men accused of feeding a man to lions in Hoedspruit last year had to delay presenting their case on Thursday after one of the accused fell ill. ”Accused number one tells me he’s suffering from chest and throat pains,” Mathews Kekana, counsel for Richard ”Doctor” Mathebula, said outside the Phalaborwa Circuit Court.
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/ 3 February 2005
Silver Stars moved up to seventh spot of the Castle Premier Soccer League log on Wednesday afternoon courtesy of a late strike from Dingane Masanabo. His goal in the 82nd minute gave the home team a 1-0 victory over Ajax Cape Town at the Seshego Stadium. A number of opportunities were missed by both teams.
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/ 3 February 2005
Defending champions Kaizer Chiefs moved into second place in the Castle Premiership when they defeated Black Leopards 3-0 in their Premier Soccer League fixture played at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday night. Collins Mbesuma, who celebrated his 21st birthday in style after the game in which he scored the opening two goals for Amakhosi.
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/ 3 February 2005
Jomo Cosmos eased their relegation woes when they beat a struggling Santos 2-0 in a Castle Premier Soccer League match played at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night. Santos, on the other hand, now face a real danger of being relegated. Both goals were scored in the first half.
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/ 2 February 2005
SA Rugby president Brian van Rooyen on Wednesday emphatically quashed rumours of a rift with the government regarding the bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup. A spokesperson SA Rugby has the full support of the sports minister ”on condition they come back and reach certain measurables”.
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/ 2 February 2005
Listed media group Moneyweb Holdings has agreed to sell 80% of its 19,62% stake in radio station Classic FM to empowerment group Huntrex for a cash consideration of R4-million, Moneyweb said on Wednesday. Moneyweb said the disposal will take effect from the earlier of February 15 or the payment of the first tranche of R2-million.
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/ 2 February 2005
South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs has signed a contract to play for the English club Lashings later this year from June to August. The club’s owner, David Folb, has brought a ”Harlem Globetrotter” element to the team in the past few years when it contracted some of the world’s greatest cricketers, past and present.
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/ 2 February 2005
Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is taking no chances when he faces Australia in a friendly international at the Absa Stadium in Durban next Wednesday night. Baxter on Wednesday selected a balanced combination with the emphasis on attack. He named leading Premier Soccer League striker Sandile Ndlovu of Dynamos as his only new cap.