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/ 7 February 2008
Human rights issues concerning refugees, immigrants and exiles needed urgent discussion and action at all three levels of government, experts said on Thursday during a panel discussion at the University of the Witwatersrand. The discussion dealt with the Central Methodist Church raid in Johannesburg as well as the country’s immigration policy.
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/ 7 February 2008
Lawyers for the Citizen newspaper will appeal against a Johannesburg High Court order that the newspaper has to pay Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride R200 000 in a defamation claim. ”We are definitely going to appeal,” the newspaper’s acting editor, Martin Williams, said.
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/ 7 February 2008
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) brand is worth R200-million. This is according to research conducted by BMI Sport Info, an independent research company. PSL consultant Peter Mancer said on Thursday at a press conference in Johannesburg that the brand has grown from strength to strength over the years.
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/ 7 February 2008
Liliesleaf Farm in Rivionia, north of Johannesburg, will reopen in June 2008 for people wanting to tour the former secret headquarters of the African National Congress’s Umkhonto we Sizwe. The farm was purchased in 1961 by the South African Communist Party, according to the Liliesleaf Trust.
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/ 7 February 2008
South Africa’s Parliament on Thursday approved legal changes to make abortions easier to obtain, despite criticism from opponents who said the law was already too lax. The changes will provide for 24-hour abortion facilities, do away with pre-approval procedures and permit all nurses — instead of just midwives — to terminate pregnancies.
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/ 7 February 2008
Zimbabwe’s draft mining Bill will not force firms to give a stake to the government for free as previously feared, and will be debated by Parliament after elections next month, a senior official said on Thursday. The government of President Robert Mugabe, who is running for another five-year term, published the Bill last November.
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/ 7 February 2008
While it was designed to cut costs and reduce bureaucracy, a new video-conference facility launched in Parliament on Thursday gave MPs the chance to see what their colleagues in the provinces look like. National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete hoped the project would one day link the government to rural areas.
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/ 7 February 2008
The rand is back to being one of the world’s worst-performing currencies in 2008 after a brief respite last year, and there appears nothing, for now, to halt its slide. A chronic energy crisis that is likely to slice into economic growth, political uncertainty and a gaping current-account deficit paint a gloomy picture for a currency prone to volatility.
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/ 7 February 2008
A top Pretoria matriculant who was shot and injured during a robbery was in a stable condition in hospital on Thursday. Razelle Botha was under intensive care and more X-rays were planned for Thursday to check the damage in her spine, Ronel Leyds, spokesperson for Pretoria East Hospital said.
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/ 7 February 2008
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Thursday vowed to continue engaging traditional healers on health issues, saying they were important partners in the fight against HIV/Aids. ”Some people might be resisting traditional healers, but I believe we are on the right track,” she said.
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/ 7 February 2008
The case of a doctor who allegedly falsified a medical certificate for Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride was postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Dr Joseph Morolong Moratioa appeared briefly in the court to hear that his case was postponed to March 12.
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/ 7 February 2008
Platinum-mining stocks continued to shine brightly on the JSE by midday on Thursday, but even this dose of positive news failed to keep the bourse in the black as a slow European market weighed. By noon, the broader all-share index had slipped 0,02% into the red. Banks dropped 1,07% and financials gave up 0,47%, while industrials pulled back 0,83%.
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/ 7 February 2008
Disagreement between South Africa’s selectors and administrators has delayed naming the squad to tour Bangladesh this month. The list of players was due to be decided on Tuesday but the announcement was deferred after Cricket South Africa president Norman Arendse refused to approve the selectors’ decision.
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/ 7 February 2008
President Thabo Mbeki will strive to show he is still in charge of the country on Friday when he makes his first State of the Nation address since being ousted as leader of the ruling party in December. Jacob Zuma, front-runner to succeed Mbeki as head of state, has already begun to eclipse his rival through control of the party.
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/ 7 February 2008
Mzwandile Stick, one of South Africa’s top and most experienced Sevens players, has been called up by Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu to replace teenage sensation Juan de Jongh for the San Diego leg of the International Rugby Board (IRB) World Sevens Series on Saturday and Sunday.
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/ 7 February 2008
With a piqued Jomo Sono effectively placing the move of Liberian international star Anthony Laffor to SuperSport United on ice , the Premier Soccer League (PSL) transfer window closed before next week’s resumption of league fixtures with the distinct feeling that there had been much ado about nothing.
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/ 7 February 2008
The Soul Brothers’ lead singer was arrested at his home in Mofolo Park, Soweto, for assaulting his wife, police said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Inspector Kay Makhubele said police had been looking for David Masondo (58) since February 2. ”A case was opened and a protection order was sought against him by his wife, Nomsa,” he said.
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/ 7 February 2008
The British high commission has confirmed that it is conducting a global review of its visit visa requirements. High commissioner Paul Boateng said on Wednesday that Britain is in regular contact with the South African government regarding the process and that no decision has been taken.
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/ 7 February 2008
Three South Africans who had initially stayed in their homes in Ndjamena, Chad, arrived at a local French school on Wednesday and were ready for evacuation, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. ”They will be transported to the French military for evacuation,” said departmental spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
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/ 7 February 2008
Diamond giant De Beers spends $100-million a year on exploration activities in the regions where the company expects to have the most impact, and has invested more than this in the past few years to establish a greater presence and activity rate in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, its group MD said on Wednesday.
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/ 7 February 2008
Due to the country’s power supply crisis, AngloGold Ashanti expected a reduction of approximately 400Â 000 ounces of gold in 2008. Diamond, gold and platinum mines in South Africa shut down production for just under a week in late January because of safety considerations.
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/ 6 February 2008
All traffic lights at the 788 controlled intersections in Pretoria are to be retrofitted with light-emitting diodes and later backed up to solar power, the Tshwane metropolitan council said on Wednesday. This followed meetings between mayor Gwen Ramokgopa and big business outlining the council’s plans to deal with the electricity crisis.
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/ 6 February 2008
Minister of Education Naledi Pandor on Wednesday condemned the recent student protests that have led to the closure of the Durban University of Technology. ”It is entirely unacceptable that a democratic right to protest is being perverted in this way,” Pandor said in a statement.
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/ 6 February 2008
The Kliptown Concerned Residents group on Wednesday took the media on a tour of the area to highlight the damage caused by recent heavy rains. Organiser Sipho Jantjie said the settlement in Kliptown had no electricity and used the bucket system. As the media walked around the settlement, raw sewage was seen flowing out of a manhole.
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/ 6 February 2008
The Chevron Refinery in Cape Town is set to resume production of liquid petroleum gas, bunker gas oil (ship’s fuel) and jet fuel from Thursday evening. ”These products will again be available for sale by the end of the week,” the refinery said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
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/ 6 February 2008
An interim report on crime-related violence is expected to be handed to the government before the end of the year, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Wednesday. He was speaking after the signing of a bilateral agreement on policing between South Africa and The Netherlands.
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/ 6 February 2008
Many Zimbabwean refugees seek shelter at the Central Methodist church in Johannesburg’s CBD, sleeping on stairs and in passageways in the only place they can find free accommodation. Up to 1 500 refugees living on the church premises were arrested in a late-night raid last week to round up illegal immigrants.
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/ 6 February 2008
Pandemonium broke out in the Cape High Court on Wednesday after Judge Deon van Zyl granted an order for the eviction of people illegally occupying houses still under construction in Delft on the Cape Flats. The homes are intended for residents at the Joe Slovo informal settlement, who are to be relocated to Delft.
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/ 6 February 2008
Over half of South Africa’s public dams, including the biggest — the 5,3-billion cubic metre Gariep Dam — do not fully comply with modern-day safety standards, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry said on Wednesday. ”As at October [last year], 160 of the 294 dams do not comply with current dam safety standards,” the department said.
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/ 6 February 2008
Growth in house prices in the middle segment of the market slowed to a nominal 9,1% in January 2008 — the lowest price growth since December 1999, when it was 9,3%, Absa said on Wednesday. Nominal price growth of 10,6% year-on-year was recorded in December last year.
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/ 6 February 2008
Support widened on Wednesday for the African National Congress Youth League’s call for a ban on the sale of alcohol on Sundays as part of the fight against drug and substance abuse among youths. Both the African Christian Democratic Party and the Young Communist League said the idea should be given serious thought.
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/ 6 February 2008
A report by the South African Institute for Race Relations, which said South African schools were the most dangerous in the world, is ”media hype”, the Department of Education said on Wednesday. The report ”is evidence that this once-credible institution has fallen prey to a political agenda”, said department Director General Duncan Hindle.