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/ 24 January 2008
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has nudged the public protector, Lawrence Mushwana, in an attempt to get a response to their request that he reopen his investigation into the Oilgate scandal. DA spokesperson Motlatjo Thetjeng said it was now nine months since the DA first wrote to Mushwana about the matter.
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/ 24 January 2008
The attorney of murder accused Johan Nel is to apply for his client to be sent for a psychiatric evaluation. Frikkie Pretorius told reporters on Thursday that at his client’s next court appearance on February 12 he would apply for Nel to be sent to Weskoppies for psychiatric and mental evaluation.
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/ 24 January 2008
Bargain hunting among global equity markets underpinned a solid performance on the JSE on Thursday, lifting it by 3,3% at noon. By the same time, resources had collected 4,74%, the platinum-mining index advanced 5,1% and the gold-mining index added 1,51%. Industrials perked up 2,25%, financials gained 2,2% and banks were 2,07% higher.
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/ 24 January 2008
The case against alleged Skielik shooter Johan Nel was postponed in the Swartruggens District Court on Thursday. Nel stands accused of the murder of four people and the attempted murder of six others in a shooting incident in the Skielik informal settlement last Monday. The case was postponed to February 12.
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/ 24 January 2008
Police massed outside the Swartruggens Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in anticipation of the arrival of a large group of protesters ahead of the appearance of Johan Nel on murder charges. Nel (18) stands accused of killing four and injuring six residents of the Skielik informal settlement, about 10km outside Swartruggens in North West, last Monday.
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/ 24 January 2008
Speeding down a road with no worries of being caught on camera may be the fortunate situation for some Johannesburg drivers until next week after the National Prosecuting Authority has said that metro police must reapply for permission to use speed cameras on specific roads.
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/ 24 January 2008
Recent power cuts in South Africa have enraged the public, raised questions over future investment in Africa’s biggest economy and increased scepticism in the country’s leaders at a time of political uncertainty. Economists estimate the cost of the power cuts already runs to hundreds of millions of rands.
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/ 23 January 2008
Activists and doctors on Wednesday accused the government of backsliding on promises to provide more effective treatment to prevent mothers passing on Aids to unborn children. The Treatment Action Campaign said that more than 60Â 000 babies are infected with HIV yearly in South Africa, most of them in the womb.
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/ 23 January 2008
The Tshwane metropolitan council has activated its disaster operations centre as several parts of Pretoria experienced flooding due to heavy rains in the city. ”The centre operates 24 hours a day and includes emergency services and other personnel who will monitor the situation,” council spokesperson Console Tleane said on Wednesday.
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/ 23 January 2008
Treason trial accused Kobus Pretorius was a danger to society and would commit further acts of violence if released on bail, the chief investigating officer told the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday. Pretorius this week, for the first time since his arrest in December 2002, applied for bail.
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/ 23 January 2008
Allegations of a ”serious rift” between Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille and the party’s parliamentary leader, Sandra Botha, have been dismissed by the DA. ”As far as we are concerned, the story … has absolutely no facts or grounds,” DA national media officer Aimee Franklin said on Wednesday.
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/ 23 January 2008
The man linked to the African National Congress (ANC) hoax-email saga, Muziwendoda Kunene, appeared in the Kestell Magistrate’s Court in the Free State on Wednesday. A court official said the matter was postponed to April 9 for further investigation. Kunene is facing a provisional charge of murder in the Free State court and remains in custody at the Kroonstad Prison.
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/ 23 January 2008
John Gomomo, a former president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions has died, the federation said. Gomomo (62) was — at the time of his death — an African National Congress MP and the chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on public service and administration.
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/ 23 January 2008
South African business leaders on Wednesday met the management of Eskom to thrash out ways to cope with an electricity crisis that has caused chaos in factories and offices. Businesses have lost hundreds of millions of rands since South Africa began being hit by rolling power cuts, lasting for up to four hours, about three weeks ago.
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/ 23 January 2008
The Department of Public Works has started on the business of revising the laws on expropriation, which became a matter of urgency following the African National Congress national conference last month. An announcement from the department on Wednesday said that it will start the ball rolling with a national workshop to be held in Gauteng next month.
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/ 23 January 2008
The Western Cape’s energy risk-management committee (ERMC) is to be reactivated to deal with the latest wave of Eskom power failures to hit the region, the provincial government announced on Wednesday. The ERMC was first set up two years ago to deal with power cuts in the province at that time.
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/ 23 January 2008
The South African Rail Commuter Corporation will reintroduce trains on the Mabopane-Pretoria and De Welt-Pretoria lines in two weeks’ time, it announced on Wednesday. Six Metrorail motor coaches and 18 trailer coaches were destroyed last Friday after they were torched by angry commuters at four stations.
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/ 23 January 2008
More than three million tax returns were filed in the 2007 filing season, the South African Revenue Service said on Wednesday. Taxpayers have eight days left to submit tax returns but this can only be done electronically. Outstanding tax returns must be submitted by January 31 to avoid penalties.
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/ 23 January 2008
Hard labour for hardened convicts was one of the proposals presented at the launch of the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) Purpose, Vision and Values Programme in Durban on Wednesday. Addressing the issue of crime in the country, the IFP’s Stan Larkan told the more than 3 000 delegates that ”hard labour needs to be introduced”.
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/ 23 January 2008
The number of black buyers of vehicles has doubled in the past five years, making up 34% of South Africa’s largest vehicle lender Wesbank’s book from 17% in 2003, it said on Wednesday. However, Wesbank painted a grim picture for the vehicle market in the next 12 months.
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/ 23 January 2008
The City of Cape Town is making R30-million available to restart the development of the Dreamworld Film City project, which is still hoping to turn the eastern suburbs of Cape Town into a southern-hemisphere Hollywood. Film producer Anant Singh was chosen to build the country’s first major film studio in Cape Town four years ago.
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/ 23 January 2008
Indian companies are considering investing R16-billion in projects at the Coega Industrial Development Zone outside Port Elizabeth, the Coega Development Corporation said on Wednesday. These investments cover projects in the metals and automotive sectors.
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/ 23 January 2008
Psst! Heard the one about Eskom? Spare a thought for the electricity supplier. Anyone with access to email in South Africa over the past few weeks has probably received at least a few of the slew of Eskom-related jokes doing the rounds. But what happens if you actually work at Eskom?
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/ 23 January 2008
The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (Cosatu) has been deeply saddened by the death of its former president, John Gomomo, it said on Wednesday. ”Gomomo died on Tuesday after a long and brave struggle against illness. We send our condolences to his family and share their grief at this sad time of loss,” said spokesperson Patrick Craven.
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/ 23 January 2008
South Africa may struggle to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup because of power cuts, the South African Tourism Services Association (Satsa) said on Wednesday. ”The stadiums may have all the … generators in the world to broadcast the games, but will people come … if they know they will be going back to hotels and guest houses with no power?” asked Satsa.
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/ 23 January 2008
A truck drove into a stationary aircraft at Cape Town International Airport on Wednesday morning, minutes before the aircraft was due to take off. No one was injured in the incident, which happened at about 8.30am, airport media officer Deidre Hendricks said. ”There was an incident early this morning … It has had no impact on airport operations,” she said.
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/ 23 January 2008
The JSE was only 0,42% in the black in midday trade on Wednesday, having pulled back after being up sharply earlier, as it started to track the FTSE and negative Dow futures, according to a trader. By 12.18pm, resources gained 1,11% and the platinum-mining index added 0,17%, but the gold-mining index was off 0,76%. Financials climbed 1,01% and banks edged up 0,11%.
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/ 23 January 2008
Homeowners and businesses are being forced to generate their own electricity as power failures bring South Africa to a standstill, but suppliers are running out of generators and many do not expect new stocks for weeks, a media report said on Wednesday.
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/ 22 January 2008
The meeting between South African Rugby Union (Saru) deputy president Mike Stofile and former Blue Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer apparently went ahead on Tuesday without Saru president Oregan Hoskins’ blessing. This is the latest development in what has become an open confrontation between the two most powerful men in South African rugby.
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/ 22 January 2008
Weddings in the dark, disgusted tourists and business owners leaving the country are some of the effects Eskom’s power failures are having, according to postings on a website dedicated to the problem. In the first 48 hours of operation, www.eskomstories.co.za has received about 2Â 000 letters.
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/ 22 January 2008
The mother of three of the Boeremag treason-trial accused, whose husband is also on trial, on Tuesday told the Pretoria High Court she knew nothing about evidence that one of her sons had built a bomb to kill former president Nelson Mandela. Minnie Pretorius testified in the bail application of her son, Kobus.
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/ 22 January 2008
The government will look at ways in which members of the Scorpions performing police functions can be absorbed into the police, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The African National Congress has decided that such members of the Directorate of Special Operations should be absorbed into the South African Police Service.