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/ 14 February 2008
The African National Congress’s decision to disband the Scorpions is to be deplored.
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/ 14 February 2008
South African power utility Eskom will consider buying back ”significant” amounts of power from industrial customers in order to ease an energy crisis, CEO Jacob Maroga said on Thursday. Maroga also said industry had responded well to an appeal to cut electricity consumption by 10% after gold and platinum mines were forced to halt production.
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/ 14 February 2008
South Africa should continue supplying its neighbours with power, African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday at the launch of the party’s Energy Efficiency Campaign. Mantashe said he did not want South Africa to be an ”island of prosperity in a sea of poverty”.
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/ 14 February 2008
The power situation has eased somewhat over the past few days and there has been no load-shedding since February 4, Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga told reporters on Thursday in Sunninghill, near Johannesburg. Maroga was announcing measures to be taken by Eskom to resolve the country’s electricity crisis.
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/ 14 February 2008
The government intends acquiring five million hectares of land next year in an effort to have 30% of agricultural land in the hands of black farmers by 2014, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulu Xingwana said in Cape Town on Thursday. Currently, black farmers own 4,7% of farm land, she told a press briefing.
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/ 14 February 2008
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma has asked the Constitutional Court to strike down a court ruling allowing seized documents to be used against him in a corruption case. Zuma and his lawyer Michael Hulley argued that prosecutors and investigators had acted illegally when they raided and seized documents.
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/ 14 February 2008
The Department of Health on Thursday released a revised policy and guidelines clearing the way for dual therapy in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. At the same time, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang dismissed claims that her department was reluctant to implement the new regime.
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/ 14 February 2008
”A disgrace”, ”Answers needed” and ”Crushing more than the Scorpions” was how some newspaper editorials reacted on Thursday to Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula’s announcement in Parliament that the Scorpions would be dissolved.
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/ 14 February 2008
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Thursday dismissed claims that her department was reluctant to implement dual therapy for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. ”I was the first person to express concern about mono therapy … but we had to make sure that we had enough time to examine the implications of dual therapy,” she said.
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/ 14 February 2008
The case against a journalist who was arrested by Durban’s metro police was thrown out by the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after the control prosecutor declined to prosecute the case. Mhlaba Memela of the Sowetan newspaper was arrested on Wednesday evening by an eThekwini metro police officer.
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/ 14 February 2008
Lindiwe Hendricks, the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, on Thursday denied that South Africa is facing a water crisis. "I can categorically say that we are not facing a water crisis, or a water-contamination crisis," she told a media briefing in Parliament. "The water that comes out of our taps is among the best in the world."
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/ 14 February 2008
Four men accused of killing 12-year-old Emily Williams were held at a high-risk detention facility in Johannesburg overnight and preparations were being made on Thursday to take them to court. Williams died when she was hit by a stray bullet in a stand-off between robbers and security guards on Tuesday morning.
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/ 14 February 2008
An internet scam offering free dogs has come to light, the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) said on Thursday. The NSPCA said one recent scam offered free puppies and included photographs of the animals.
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/ 14 February 2008
South African families are grossly underinsured, by an estimated R10-billion, according to an independent study commissioned by the Life Offices’ Association. The Insurance Gap Study is aimed at measuring the life and disability insurance shortfall for South African households.
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/ 14 February 2008
The Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions) did not act improperly as suggested by the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana said on Thursday. The ANCYL lodged a complaint with his office stating that the Scorpions held an ”inappropriate” meeting.
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/ 14 February 2008
Grade progression was poorly linked to actual ability and learning among black high-school pupils, research has found. Economic Research Southern Africa’s survey found evidence of ”significant racial differences” in secondary school grade progression.
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/ 14 February 2008
The African National Congress (ANC) is subscribing to the ”big-lie” theory, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. ”The ANC subscribes to the theory that if the ”big lie” is repeated often enough, then people will believe it, and reality can be shaped by the ruling party,” the DA’s Gauteng provincial safety spokesperson, James Swart, said.
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/ 14 February 2008
Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats) posted weaker half-year headline earnings per share on Thursday, and forecast ”very tight market conditions” for platinum due to a power crisis in South Africa that has helped push the metal’s price to an all-time record.
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/ 14 February 2008
Kumba Iron Ore, Africa’s biggest iron-ore producer, saw full-year headline earnings per share (EPS) leap by 43% as prices and demand soared, the company said on Thursday. Kumba said tight global supplies should support prices in the coming year, but said costs resulting from an energy shortage in South Africa could weigh.
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/ 14 February 2008
Firm world markets and stronger metal prices continued to support the JSE by noon on Thursday. At noon, the broader all-share index had risen 1,34%. Banks collected 2,33% and financials climbed 1,07%. Industrials advanced 1,44%, the platinum mining index gained 1,4%. Resources were 1,35% higher and the gold mining index added 1,16%.
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/ 14 February 2008
Fifth seed Rik de Voest won the battle of the South Africans and set up a quarterfinal clash with top seed Ivan Ljubicic at the South African Airways Tennis Open on Wednesday. De Voest lifted the level of his game from his first-round encounter to beat up-and-coming 21-year-old Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.
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/ 14 February 2008
In a remarkable match in the MTN Domestic Championship played at the De Beers Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Wednesday, Boeta Dippenaar’s Diamond Eagles snatched an exciting three wicket-victory over Zimbabwe. Set a 219 victory target, the Diamond Eagles appeared to be dead and buried on 133/7 in the 36th over.
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/ 14 February 2008
The Cape Cobras cruised to a third successive victory in the MTN Domestic Championship at Newlands on Wednesday, beating the Lions by six wickets with four overs to spare. The Lions won the toss and elected to bat first. Stephen Cook and stand-in captain Alviro Petersen got them off to a flying start with a partnership of 61 off 79 balls.
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/ 14 February 2008
Ajax Cape Town maintained their position at the top of the Premier Soccer League standings with a well-deserved 3-1 win over Bloemfontein Celtic at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night. The opening minutes of the game were scrappy as neither team were able to stamp their authority on the match.
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/ 14 February 2008
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has condemned the conduct of the Durban metro police in arresting and detaining a Sowetan reporter, Mhlaba Memela, while covering an incident in Durban’s central business district on Wednesday night.
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/ 14 February 2008
African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma was in Mauritius on Wednesday in connection with the corruption case he faces. Zuma’s lawyer, Michael Hulley, confirmed by telephone from the Indian Ocean island that his client was meeting with legal representatives about documents that allegedly contain proof of bribes being solicited.
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/ 13 February 2008
Three forms of technical evidence submitted to the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday fingered some of the accused in the Jeppestown ”massacre”. Two of them were linked through fingerprints to cars parked at the scene of the crime. DNA samples from clothes were linked to the blood of another accused.
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/ 13 February 2008
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Judge President Vuka Tshabalala said on Wednesday that he had returned all the shares in Absa Bank worth millions of rands, which were given to him by a consortium headed by businessman Tokyo Sexwale. ”I have returned the shares. That’s the end of the matter,” said Tshabalala.
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/ 13 February 2008
At least 830 of KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) law-enforcement officers are under investigation for a host of crimes ranging from assault through to rape and murder, figures released by the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) revealed on Wednesday.
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/ 13 February 2008
The Greater Kliptown Development Project is well on track, the Gauteng department of housing said on Wednesday. ”The project has, however, not been without challenges. ”During the implementation, the project experienced delays brought about by the density of the informal settlement and the slow delivery by previous contractors,” the department said.
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/ 13 February 2008
The pledge the government intends having all schoolchildren recite during morning assembly is a good start, but more is needed to instil values in children, experts said on Wednesday. The proposed pledge was unveiled by Education Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday.
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/ 13 February 2008
Five independent brokers have been identified as allegedly using personal client information to submit unauthorised policy applications to Liberty Life, the financial-services group said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Mandy Denton said Liberty Life had sent one forensic investigator to KwaZulu-Natal to assist police with investigations.