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/ 13 December 2007
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The African National Congress (ANC) must make the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people a ”living reality” at its upcoming national conference. The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project and the Triangle Project will send an open manifesto demanding these rights to the ANC ahead of the conference.
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/ 13 December 2007
The African National Congress Women’s League’s decision to postpone its planned Thursday meeting with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has deprived the latter of an opportunity to explain its general secretary’s controversial gender remarks made at the weekend, Cosatu said on Thursday.
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/ 13 December 2007
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for effective sanction of government departments for failing to answer written parliamentary questions after 233 of its questions went unanswered this year. Thirteen percent (233) of the 1 690 written parliamentary questions posed by the party this year remained unanswered on Wednesday.
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/ 13 December 2007
Nationwide Airlines intends retrenching 27 support staff based at Lanseria Airport, the trade union Solidarity said on Thursday. ”Nineteen workers out of the 27 on the list have already been notified that their employment is to be terminated by January 14 2008,” said Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans.
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/ 13 December 2007
The R230-million Gautrain tunnel-boring machine has been christened ”Imbokodo [Rock]”, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said in Johannesburg on Thursday. Shilowa said the name symbolises the country’s heritage of willpower and women’s emancipation. ”If you strike a woman, you strike a rock,” he said.
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/ 13 December 2007
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The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) has expressed ”dismay” at the African National Congress’s (ANC) succession debate focusing on the personalities of President Thabo Mbeki and ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma. ”The PSAM believes that debate should be refocused on the protection of civil and political rights,” it said.
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/ 13 December 2007
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy’s former dormitory matron briefly appeared on Thursday in the Sebokeng Magistrate’s Court. Tiny Makgabo (27) faces charges of indecent assault, common assault, soliciting a minor to perform indecent acts and verbal abuse.
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/ 13 December 2007
Mongezi Jinxela — convicted on a total of 219 charges including rape, kidnapping, robbery and assault — was sentenced to life imprisonment and 20 years at the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday. Handing down judgement, Judge George Maluleke said he recommended that Jinxela never receive parole as he would never be rehabilitated.
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/ 13 December 2007
Confidence in South Africa’s manufacturing sector improved in the fourth quarter on a recovery in domestic demand, but export performance remained poor, the Bureau for Economic Research said on Thursday. The independent bureau’s manufacturing business confidence index increased by four points to 69.
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/ 13 December 2007
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) still expects to make an announcement regarding its investigation of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi this week, NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Thursday. ”An announcement will be made this week but I can’t say if it will be today,” said Tlali.
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/ 13 December 2007
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono has broken his silence on the country’s cash shortage, assuring the nation that the central bank will remedy the situation before Christmas, the state-controlled Herald reported on Thursday.
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/ 13 December 2007
President Thabo Mbeki’s free-market economic policies have been ”disastrous” for the country, Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu’s general secretary told the Financial Times in an interview published on Thursday. Vavi accused Mbeki’s government of having lost sight of the concerns of the poor and unemployed during his eight years of rule.
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/ 13 December 2007
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President Thabo Mbeki risks being cast aside by his party next week in favour of an arch rival who may yet be charged with corruption. Mbeki still has two years left as head of state but analysts say a defeat at the hands of Jacob Zuma in the African National (ANC) Congress leadership contest could leave him a lame duck.
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/ 13 December 2007
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A three-hour meeting between African National Congress (ANC) veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the party’s secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe on Wednesday has been described as ”positive”, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported.
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/ 12 December 2007
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Attempts were being made to discredit African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma ahead of his possible election to the ANC’s top job by the publication of details of an inquest into the death his wife, Kate, the government said on Wednesday.
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/ 12 December 2007
A classified advertisement for an ”adult stunner” precipitated an alleged assault by former bouncer Gary Beuthin, the Randburg Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday. Three stand accused of attempted murder, armed robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and possession of firearms and ammunition.
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/ 12 December 2007
Convicted serial rapist Mongezi Jinxela claimed during testimony in mitigation of sentence on Wednesday that women misled men and then cried rape to the courts. Johannesburg High Court Judge George Maluleka found Jinxela guilty last Thursday of raping 60 women. Altogether he was found guilty on 219 charges of rape, kidnapping, robbery and assault.
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/ 12 December 2007
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Controversial African National Congress (ANC) veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has proposed ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma become South Africa’s president in 2009 and that a ”solution” be found for the legal difficulties confronting him. According to a statement issued by her office, Madikizela-Mandela on Wednesday spelled out her ”intervention proposal”.
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/ 12 December 2007
Proceedings at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court came to an end on Wednesday without any sign of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. Phantom sightings and rumours that he had been arrested and due to appear in court had sparked a media frenzy at courts around Gauteng.
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/ 12 December 2007
The Cape High Court is to deliver judgement on Thursday morning in an application launched by about 20 000 residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement to stop their eviction and relocation. After hearing argument all day on Wednesday for and against the evictions, Judge President John Hlophe said he needed time to think about everything.
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/ 12 December 2007
More than a thousand people and 70 officials were arrested during a drive to root out driver-licence fraud and corruption, the Department of Transport said on Wednesday. ”About 2 790 drivers’ licences were also cancelled during the ongoing joint operation,” said spokesperson Collen Msibi.
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/ 12 December 2007
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Suspended African National Congress (ANC) member Votani Majola has failed in another bid to have next week’s ANC national conference in Polokwane postponed. The Supreme Court of Appeal on Wednesday dismissed his urgent application for leave to appeal a Johannesburg High Court judgement, which also turned down an urgent application.
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/ 12 December 2007
The City of Cape Town on Wednesday released details of its plans for a multimillion-rand ”facelift” for the historic Greenmarket Square — South Africa’s second-oldest public square. The square, in the heart of Cape Town’s central business district, turns 300 on March 10 2010.
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/ 12 December 2007
Eskom commenced load shedding during the peak period on Wednesday morning due to a continued shortage of capacity caused by both planned and unplanned maintenance, the power supplier said. Erica Johnson, director of operations and planning, said load shedding would continue throughout the day.
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/ 12 December 2007
Gauteng crime rates are still unacceptably high and the province will continue to implement safety strategies to combat festive-season crime, provincial minister of community safety Firoz Cachalia said on Wednesday. Briefing the media in Johannesburg on festive-season policing, he said crime-blitz operations, road blocks and searches would be conducted.
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/ 12 December 2007
There is no longer any excuse for any country to ignore climate change and South Africa will contribute its fair share, Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Wednesday. Speaking at the United Nations climate-change conference in Bali, he said 12 years after the Kyoto Protocol the world was faced with further alarming scientific findings.
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/ 12 December 2007
Charges of theft against South African singing sensation Mandoza were withdrawn in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Mandoza (29), whose real name is Mduduzi Tshabalala, and his wife, Mpho Tshabalala (27), were accused of theft under false pretences.
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/ 12 December 2007
South Africa’s acting chief prosecutor is seeking an urgent meeting with the country’s justice minister over the possible arrest of police chief Jackie Selebi, a media report said on Wednesday. South Africa’s opposition has called repeatedly for Selebi to be sacked over the country’s high crime rates and his links to convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti.
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/ 12 December 2007
The IT technician caught up in the hoax-email saga, Muziwendoda Kunene, appeared in the Kestell Magistrate’s Court in the eastern Free State on Wednesday. A court official said the matter was postponed to January 23 2008 for further investigation. ”He is facing a provisional charge of murder and will stay in custody at the Kroonstad Prison.”
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/ 12 December 2007
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In the five days that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) takes to elect a leader and approve major policies, more than 600 women and children in South Africa are likely to be raped and 240 others murdered. About 3Â 000 houses could be burgled and 2Â 500 robberies carried out in a country described as one of the most violent outside a war zone.
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/ 12 December 2007
Chris Gayle’s West Indies touring team will attempt to succeed where their predecessors have failed when they take on South Africa over the next seven-and-a-half weeks. The odds appear to be stacked against the West Indies, but Gayle has the consolation of knowing that he can hardly do worse than previous sides from the Caribbean that have visited South Africa.
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/ 12 December 2007
Nationwide Airlines is gradually resuming its operations, with three of its 17 aircraft already back in service. The airline’s Boeing 767-300 service to London, which resumed last week, is operating as normal and two of its 737-500 aircraft are now being used on domestic flights, company spokesperson Charmaine Thome said on Wednesday.