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/ 24 January 2005
President Thabo Mbeki paid a surprise visit to the troubled Moqhaka municipality in the Free State on Monday. Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff told journalists the meeting was part of the president’s unannounced visits to municipalities to check on service delivery. Marshoff said the Free State was privileged to be the first visited by the president.
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/ 24 January 2005
The new pharmacy operations of listed health and beauty retailer New Clicks Holdings continue to show a loss four months into the company’s 2005 financial year, with the government’s new dispensing-fee regulations eating into margins. This is leading the company to focus on rolling out pharmacy dispensaries in larger Clicks stores.
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/ 24 January 2005
The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Southern Africa, Cardinal Wilfred Napier, criticised the government on Monday for promoting condoms in the fight against HIV/Aids ”when it’s clearly not working”. Napier said only drastic change in sexual behaviour will stop the spread of the disease.
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/ 24 January 2005
Kaizer Chiefs failed to continue with their dominance over Manning Rangers when the Durban-based outfit held them 2-2 in a crunch Castle Premiership encounter played at Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The visitors were the first to find the back of the net in the 26th minute when Arthur ”10111” Zwane scored.
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/ 24 January 2005
Ever-improving Bloemfontein Celtic drew 1-1 with Ajax Cape Town in a tough Castle Premiership League encounter played at Vodacom Park Stadium on Sunday. Celtic’s defender and captain Lehlohonolo Seema led by example, scoring a brilliant goal for his team in the 57th minute as the strikers squandered several scoring opportunities.
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/ 24 January 2005
South African Tim Clark took the lead at the third hole during the final round of the South African Airways Open golf tournament played the Durban Country Club on Sunday and never looked back. When the 29-year-old from Umkomaas potted the final putt of the tournament, he had completed the tournament in a 15-under-par 273.
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/ 24 January 2005
Johannesburg- and London-listed financial services group Investec plans to raise R522,5-million via the issue of five million new preference shares at an issue price of R104,5-million, the company announced on Monday. The preference share offering opens on Monday and closes on Friday February 11.
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/ 21 January 2005
Africa owes a debt of gratitude to world soccer body Fifa and its president, Sepp Blatter, for agreeing that the 2010 Soccer World Cup be held in Africa, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. He said Fifa received the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo for its part in the campaign that saw apartheid South Africa isolated on many levels.
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/ 21 January 2005
Johannesburg residents can expect to have their water turned back on by Friday afternoon, Johannesburg Water said. This is after several suburbs in northern Johannesburg were left without water on Thursday when a main water pipeline burst on Inchanga Road in Maroeladal, Randburg, due to pressure.
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/ 21 January 2005
Security remained tight at Lindelani, north of Durban, on Friday following the killing of the area’s Inkatha Freedom Party leader, Thomas Shabalala. The Durban serious and violent crimes unit is investigating the killing. Shabalala was shot twice in the head and chest at his driveway gate just after 8pm. Police do not suspect the killing to have been politically motivated.
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/ 21 January 2005
Forty MPs are to be prosecuted for their role in Parliament’s travel scam, the Scorpions announced on Friday. "After considering the evidence and consulting with the affected parties, we have decided to prosecute certain members of Parliament in this matter," spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said.
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/ 21 January 2005
Shareholders of Australian-listed grocery and liquor wholesaler Metcash Trading have approved resolutions that will facilitate the group’s plans to buy the 60% stake in Metcash held by South African-listed holding group Metoz, Metcash confirmed on Friday. Metoz was previously known as Metro Cash and Carry or Metcash.
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/ 21 January 2005
A rush of investors keen to participate in the strong run of local equities has forced Old Mutual to close its top-performing general equity unit trust fund, the Old Mutual High Yield Opportunities Fund, to new investments with immediate effect. Old Mutual Unit Trusts announced its decision to close the fund on Friday.
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/ 20 January 2005
A Cape Town primary school on Thursday lodged an application in the High Court challenging the Western Cape education department’s intention to send English-speaking students to the school, overriding the school governing body’s admission and language policy. According to the body’s chairperson, the matter has been brewing for the past three years.
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/ 20 January 2005
The Eastern Cape health department has announced a R4-million plan to help deal with perennial cholera outbreaks, which have since 2002 claimed the lives of 83 people and hospitalised another 6 000 in the region. A departmental spokesperson said 22 specialised motorbikes are going to help combat outbreaks.
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/ 20 January 2005
A team comprising independent experts will be set up to investigate claims of cheating in last year’s Mpumalanga matric exams, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor said on Thursday. The team’s probe will complement a separate ongoing police investigation into the allegations.
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/ 20 January 2005
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk should break his silence on the escalating crime against tourists in Cape Town by calling a summit to address "this crisis" and raise its priority in the government’s Budget, the official opposition Democratic Alliance said on Thursday.
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/ 20 January 2005
South African professional golf has received another major boost with the announcement that leading cellular network provider Vodacom will sponsor the R2-million Vodacom Tour Championship on the summer leg of the Sunshine Tour next month. The championship will be played in Johannesburg from February 24 to 27.
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/ 20 January 2005
Limpopo police have opened an inquest docket following the death of a 26-year-old border police officer who killed himself just minutes before he was to be arrested for corruption. The officer had been under investigation for allegedly accepting a R100 bribe from a Zimbabwean illegal immigrant.
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/ 20 January 2005
German toy boy Makoko the Gorilla appealed on Thursday to Jo’burgers to dig deep into their pockets to assist him with paying lobola for Max the Gorilla’s widow, Lisa. Makoko (19) moved from Munster Zoo in Germany last November to be with the 33-year-old Lisa, who has been single since the death of the crime-busting Max last May.
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/ 20 January 2005
Protesting prison warders taking part in a protest march in Pretoria on Thursday were urged not to sing about Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour’s mother’s genitals or accuse him of being full of shit. ”We are marching to protest against the reduction of warders on duty in prisons over the weekends,” said a Police and Civil Rights Union spokesperson.
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/ 20 January 2005
Two babies are among those missing after a bus was swept into the crocodile-infested Umbuluzi River in Swaziland earlier this week, police said on Thursday.
Swaziland police spokesperson Vusi Masuku said police divers and emergency personnel were combing the river and a nearby dam for seven people on Thursday.
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/ 20 January 2005
As infighting continued to plague the Independent Democrats, a renewed call for a postponement of the party’s Western Cape congress was made on Wednesday. Senior office bearers, including chairpersons of nine ID branches in Cape Town’s metropolis, have signed a statement calling for the postponement due to the ”chaotic planning and absence of a fair process”.
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/ 20 January 2005
Bush Bucks and Silver Stars shared the spoils when they drew 1-1 in a scrappy Premier Soccer League match played at Absa Stadium in East London on Wednesday night. Stars had been behind for much of the contest but a goal in the dying minutes from December Ngobeni levelled matters.
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/ 20 January 2005
Orlando Pirates midfield star Steve Lekoelea showed his genius when taking free-kicks as he helped Bucs to an easy 3-0 win over struggling Jomo Cosmos in their Castle Premiership showdown played at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on Wednesday night. The classy Lekoelea scored two goals — one in each half from free-kicks.
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/ 20 January 2005
Kaizer Chiefs were lucky to get a point after their one-all draw with Dynamos in their otherwise ding-dong Castle Premiership match at FNB Stadium on Wednesday night. Amakhosi were a shadow of the mean club who whipped Bloemfontein Celtic 4-1 in a league match at the same venue over the weekend.
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/ 20 January 2005
Mamelodi Sundowns launched a powerful second-half comeback to beat Santos 2-1 in a Castle Premier League clash at Loftus Stadium on Wednesday night. Santos opened the scoring through Reuben Cloete, who took advantage of Sundowns’ sloppy defending as early as the second minute.
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/ 20 January 2005
Former national cricket selector Hugh Page said on Thursday that he would have taken a chance and kept an injured Charl Langeveldt in the South African team for the crucial fifth Castle Lager/MTN Test against England, starting at Supersport Park on Friday. Titans fast-bowler Andre Nel will return to the South African cricket team for the last Test.
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/ 20 January 2005
Due in part to the high-profile launch of Mark Shuttleworth’s new Ubuntu open-source operating system, more and more ordinary computer users are realising that there is life after Windows. To help them on their way, a new magazine, <i>Tectonic</i>, will be launched in South Africa in March.
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/ 19 January 2005
Two of South Africa’s most promising young cyclists were among the five men who died in a plane crash in the Free State on Tuesday, the manager of South Africa’s national cycling team said on Wednesday. Cyclists Jaco de Witt and Jaco Odendaal, along with three others, were on board an Aerostar light aircraft on their way to Harrismith.
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/ 19 January 2005
A Magaliesburg farmer was arrested on Wednesday after police found his greenhouse full of dagga plants guarded by a snake in a glass cage. West Rand police spokesperson Captain Paula Nothnagel said the 37-year-old farmer did not have a permit for his snake. Nothnagel said the dagga was farmed and dried in greenhouses on the farm.
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/ 19 January 2005
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief executive Peter Matlare announced his resignation following a special meeting with the broadcaster’s board of directors on Wednesday. His resignation follows media speculation of a tiff between Matlare and the broadcaster’s managing director of news, Snuki Zikalala.