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/ 22 January 2008

SA HIV vaccines on brink of human testing

Researchers from the University of Cape Town have developed two test HIV vaccines — the first wholly South African-developed products to enter the human clinical-trials phase, the Herald Online reported on Tuesday. The vaccines are just months away from being assessed in human clinical trials, the report said.

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/ 22 January 2008

Banks help pare JSE losses

The JSE was down only 0,83% at noon on Tuesday, as buying interest among banks helped it recover from sharp losses of over 4% in the morning session. By noon, the platinum mining index fell 2,27%, resources were down 1,72%, and the gold mining index pulled back 1,47%.

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/ 21 January 2008

Richter murder accused was to inherit R1m, court hears

The Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court heard on Monday that one of the six people accused of murdering and robbing Muldersdrift conservationist Frans Richter stood to inherit R1-million from him, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. Celiwe Mbokazi was Richter’s housekeeper and, according to the police, she was promised R1-million in his will.

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/ 21 January 2008

State to take possession of expropriated farm

The state will on Thursday take possession of a Limpopo farm that was expropriated after it was liquidated. The liquidators refused to bring down the price at which they were willing to sell the farm to the government. The property is the second to be expropriated by the government as part of efforts to speed up the land-reform process.

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/ 21 January 2008

Aviation CEO denies ‘pirate-parts’ claim

South African Civil Aviation Authority CEO Captain Colin Jordaan has denied reports that the airline, Nationwide, had neglected to properly maintain its fleet. In a statement issued on Monday, Jordaan rejected as incorrect media reports where he was quoted as saying: ”Nationwide had neglected maintenance and its records were not kept properly.”

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/ 21 January 2008

Aviation CEO denies ‘pirate-parts’ claim

South African Civil Aviation Authority CEO Captain Colin Jordaan has denied reports that the airline, Nationwide, had neglected to properly maintain its fleet. In a statement issued on Monday, Jordaan rejected as incorrect media reports where he was quoted as saying: ”Nationwide had neglected maintenance and its records were not kept properly.”

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/ 21 January 2008

Dark times ahead for South Africa

South Africa was set on Monday to ration electricity in a bid to stem a spiralling crisis that has dealt a severe blow to its status as the continent’s economic powerhouse. After mounting anger over daily power cuts that have cost business hundreds of millions of rands, the government said it was drawing up plans that could see consumers fined if they exceed set quotas.

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/ 21 January 2008

Waterkloof murder case postponed

The case against the three men accused of killing British citizen Fred Picton-Turbervill was postponed in the Pretoria Regional Court on Monday. Petro Morkel and Rasel Thembe — both from Mozambique — as well as Thokozane Nhlapo made a brief court appearance and their case was postponed to January 28.

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/ 21 January 2008

Scorpions’ disbanding ‘is to protect ANC’

The African National Congress (ANC) is getting rid of the Scorpions in order to protect ANC members from corruption charges, according to the leader of the Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille. Zille said on Monday that besides the seven convicted criminals on the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC), six NEC members are currently the subject of investigations.

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/ 21 January 2008

House-price growth flat in December, says bank

South African median home prices were flat in December last year after moderating to 6,5% year-on-year (y/y) in November from 10,2% y/y growth in October, the Standard Bank’s property gauge showed on Monday. In level terms, the median house price was recorded at R550 000, bringing the five-month moving average growth rate to 5,6% y/y.

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/ 21 January 2008

Young dancer pirouettes past SA prejudices

His chosen vocation ridiculed by peers and elders alike, South African teenager Andile Ndlovu remains unwavering in his ambition to become a world-class ballet dancer. One of a small pool of black, male practitioners of an art considered by many to be the domain of whites and the rich, Ndlovu is doing what he can to popularise ballet in his community.

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/ 21 January 2008

Duminy guides SA to victory

JP Duminy scored a career-best 79 not out to guide South Africa to a six-wicket victory over West Indies on Sunday in the first game of their five-match one-day series. South Africa won with 12 balls to spare after scoring 176 for four in reply to West Indies’ total of 175. Rain reduced the match to 36 overs a side.

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/ 21 January 2008

Rate hike ‘almost inconceivable’

It is almost inconceivable that the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) Monetary Policy Committee would raise interest rates in the current atmosphere, according to strategist for Investec Securities, Brian Kantor. "I would not have raised the last two times. It is quite clear now that the last increase was over the top," he said,

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/ 20 January 2008

No ANC decision on Motlanthe

It has not been decided whether African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe will become South Africa’s deputy president, the party’s secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, said on Sunday at the close of the ANC national executive committee’s meeting in Midrand.

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/ 20 January 2008

Mahomed was an architect of the UDF

It is no accident that a meeting held to commemorate the life of Yunus Mahomed was attended by scores of luminaries from the African National Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF). Current and former Cabinet ministers paid tribute to their comrade, who died of a heart attack on January 6.

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/ 20 January 2008

‘Duminy is hammering on the door’

Cape Cobras coach Shukri Conrad believes that national coach Mickey Arthur is doing the country a disservice by not including batsman JP Duminy in the national squad. Conrad made his plea after Duminy, who continues to put pressure on the top players, scored another hundred last weekend in the SuperSport Series.

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/ 20 January 2008

SA almost out of Women’s Golf World Cup

South Africa’s Ashleigh Simon and Laurette Maritz have all but ruled themselves out of winning the World Cup of Women’s Golf at Sun City after carding a level par 72 in round two on Saturday for an overall score of four under par for the tournament. Overnight leaders Korea shared the lead with the Philippines at 11-under.

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/ 20 January 2008

Eagles prove they are the champions

The Diamond Eagles proved with their victory of 82 runs over the Dolphins at the Outsurance Oval in Bloemfontein on Saturday that they are the SuperSport Series cricket champions for the 2007/08 season. It was the central franchise’s sixth trophy out of a possible 11 since the franchise system was introduced.

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/ 20 January 2008

Stormers notch up runaway victory

The Stormers scored a runaway victory of 72-10 in their warm-up match against the Boland Cavaliers at Wellington on Saturday after leading 24-0 at half-time. The Stormers scored 12 tries, of which six were converted. It was a typical pre-season match with plenty of mistakes on both sides.