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/ 5 February 2008

Eskom power boss replaced

Eskom has removed the man in charge of its power stations, the <i>Business Report</i> said on Tuesday. Ehud Matya has been replaced by Brian Dames, another Eskom executive, who will now be responsible for primary energy, power plants and his existing portfolio of capital investment.

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/ 5 February 2008

ANC branch meeting ends in blows

A number of African National Congress (ANC) members at Alice in the Eastern Cape have sustained injuries after a branch meeting ended in an exchange of blows, it was reported on Monday. Reports said a group of party supporters arrived at Khayalethu village during the registration process for an AGM and called for its dissolution.

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/ 4 February 2008

Cops, students clash in Durban

Students, police and security personnel clashed in running battles on the Durban University of Technology’s Steve Biko campus on Monday. Bricks, bottles and stones were thrown by the students. Journalists were chased from the administration block and a photographer was struck on the back by a student wielding a stick.

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/ 4 February 2008

ANCYL proposes liquor ban on Sundays

A ban on Sunday liquor sales was proposed as a part of the fight against drug and substance abuse among youths, outgoing African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Fikile Mbalula said on Monday. ”The ANCYL will propose that all clubs and taverns be banned from selling liquor on Sundays and their trading hours should be limited.”

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/ 4 February 2008

There is no water crisis, says govt

South Africa is not facing a water crisis, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry said on Monday. The department was responding to media reports on the weekend, citing a National Nuclear Regulator report that suggested serious problems with the country’s water supply, including radioactive contamination, unsafe dams and waste spills.

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/ 4 February 2008

ANC: Mbeki backers won’t be purged

African National Congress (ANC) leaders who supported President Thabo Mbeki in the build-up to the party’s elective conference in Polokwane will not be victimised, the party’s newly elected leadership said on Monday. The ANC said fears that there would be a purge were baseless as the party had no intention to change its traditions.

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/ 4 February 2008

Dozens caught mid-stream in Jo’burg

Johannesburg’s metro police arrested 61 men for urinating in public in the inner city over the weekend. The offenders were apprehended mainly around hawkers’ stands at St Mary’s cathedral in the city, Joubert Park, Hillbrow and Jeppe station during a metro police operation in the area.

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/ 4 February 2008

Gauteng municipalities commit to power savings

Gauteng municipalities are switching off their lights to help prevent load-shedding. All 14 municipalities in the province on Monday committed themselves to a 10% reduction in electricity use, and to improve communication with residents and businesses on when and how long they will be affected by load-shedding.

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/ 4 February 2008

Sales of new vehicles dip in January

Sales of new vehicles were down by 9,4% in the first month of the year to 47 296 sold compared with the 52 212 sold in January last year, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said on Monday. New car sales were down to 30 483, or 14,6%, in January this year compared with 35 687 sold in the same month last year.

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/ 4 February 2008

Dalton case struck from the roll

The attempted murder case against former Springbok rugby player James Dalton was struck from a Pretoria court roll on Monday. He can now only be prosecuted again for this alleged offence once the state is issued with a certificate from the National Director of Public Prosecutions.

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/ 4 February 2008

Energy crunch could cut economic growth

South Africa’s power crisis may already have damaged economic growth, even though the country’s mines have bounced back after electricity shortages brought production to a halt. The longer it takes Eskom to boost energy output for industry, the greater the chances that 2007 could have marked the end to four years of brisk economic growth.

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/ 4 February 2008

Cape Flats fire destroys 100 shacks

About a hundred shacks were destroyed in a fire on Sunday evening at the Joe Slovo informal settlement near Langa on the Cape Flats, Cape Town disaster risk management said. ”We were very fortunate that we have fire-detection cameras and the alarm was sounded,” said spokesperson Greg Pillay.

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/ 4 February 2008

Banks, world markets enliven JSE

The JSE had been lifted into the black by noon on Monday as firmer world markets and advances in the bank sector helped enliven the bourse after its soft opening. By noon, the broader all-share index had gained 0,92% to 29&nbsp;016,26 points. Banks perked up 2%, while financials advanced 1,63% and industrials collected 1,66%.

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/ 3 February 2008

Pollock farewell match ends in victory

There were cheers and tears as Herschelle Gibbs hit a century and helped South Africa cruise to a eight-wicket victory over the West Indies in the fifth MTN one-day international on Sunday, as thousands of fans flocked to the Wanderers to say goodbye to Shaun Pollock, who was playing his last match in green and gold.

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/ 3 February 2008

Nzimande launches stinging attack on City Press

South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande has accused City Press newspaper of adopting an ”extremely hostile attitude” towards African National Congress president Jacob Zuma. Nzimande tears into the paper in an open letter published on Sunday for ”deliberately” writing about the party in a ”provocatively factionalist, divisive and highly subjective manner”.

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/ 3 February 2008

Report: SA education in crisis mode

South African education is in crisis mode, according to a Finweek report published this week. The report reveals not only a shocking skills shortage 13 years into post-apartheid South Africa, but also a fundamental crisis in an education system sorely lacking resources to equip a nation adequately for future growth.

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/ 3 February 2008

ANC MPs seen as loyal to Mbeki fear the axe

Fear now stalks the corridors of African National Congress (ANC) power as the party’s new president, Jacob Zuma, asserts his authority in Parliament, the provinces and the party structures, the Sunday Times reported. ANC MPs made their anxiety known in a closed meeting of the ANC’s parliamentary caucus on Thursday.

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/ 3 February 2008

Young SA soccer stars down the Danes

South Africa’s national Under-23 soccer team beat their Danish counterparts 2-0 at a packed Caledonian Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday. A much-improved performance by Steve Komphela’s side saw the hosts comfortably win the second game of this two-match international friendly series.

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/ 3 February 2008

Downs, Birds edge home in Atteridgeville

In the wake of much bravado preceding what was termed the ”Gauteng Challenge”, Mamelodi Sundowns and Moroka Swallows edged home on penalty kicks against Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United respectively in what were no more than gloried friendlies at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

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/ 3 February 2008

Bafana defeated, but all is not lost

He conceded that it left a lump in the throat that they were back in South Africa at this early juncture of the Africa Cup of Nations, but worldly Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said it was heartening and encouraging that many positives had emerged in spite of South Africa’s opening-round elimination.