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/ 4 December 2007
A senior Cape Town police officer may face disciplinary charges after making conflicting statements on the time of the recent arrest of former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni for drunken driving. The step follows reports that police may have bungled the arrest by delaying taking a blood-alcohol sample.
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/ 4 December 2007
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Jacob Zuma is hounded by corruption allegations and his rape trial often overshadows his status as a hero of the anti-apartheid struggle. Yet the burly Zulu politician has shrugged off obstacles that would have crippled others to emerge as favourite to lead the ruling African National Congress.
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/ 4 December 2007
The first South China tiger cub born in South Africa was shown to the media at the Laohu Valley Reserve in the southern Free State on Tuesday. The cub, not named yet, was born 11 days ago, weighing 1,2kg, and opened his eyes on Monday. The South China tiger is one of the most endangered species in the world.
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/ 4 December 2007
A delegation of the world’s elder statesmen on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan’s Darfur and for the international community to urgently honour its pledge to send in a peacekeeping force. ”The future of Darfur, and indeed the whole of Sudan, sits on a knife-edge,” said a report following a fact-finding mission.
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/ 4 December 2007
In a further effort to protect South Africa’s fast-diminishing perlemoen stocks, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk has imposed a ban on scuba diving and snorkelling in certain areas along the Cape coast. The envisaged prohibition, subject to a process of public comment, will take effect from February 1 next year.
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/ 4 December 2007
The South African Civil Aviation Authority and Nationwide Airlines have agreed to a media blackout regarding the grounding of the carrier. They said they would no longer make independent statements to the press, but would speak jointly on the process, it was announced on Tuesday.
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/ 4 December 2007
The City of Tshwane will be ready to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup spectacle, mayor Gwen Ramakgopa said on Tuesday. ”We are confident that we are on track,” she said. She was addressing journalists at a press-club briefing in Pretoria about the city’s readiness to host the event.
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/ 4 December 2007
KwaZulu-Natal traffic authorities on Tuesday launched their holiday road-safety plan by announcing a high-tech new system to trap speeding motorists and identify stolen vehicles. The summer holiday brings increased activity as locals, visitors and tourists traverse the length and breadth of the province.
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/ 4 December 2007
The joint estate of former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown and his wife, Susan, was on Tuesday placed under provisional sequestration by the Cape High Court. This followed an application by the curators of the Fidentia group of companies, who claimed that the Browns owed Fidentia just over R24-million.
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/ 4 December 2007
Kaizer Chiefs’s Itumeleng Khune won this year’s awards for goalkeeper and player of the Telkom Knockout Cup at a ceremony held at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The 23-year-old not only received the trophies for his outstanding performances, but also a whopping R300 000.
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/ 4 December 2007
Consumer confidence has surprisingly rebounded to close to its previous record, according to the First National Bank (FNB)/Stellenbosch University Bureau for Economic Research’s (BER) latest FNB/BER consumer confidence index, which was released on Tuesday. Consumer confidence increased by four index points.
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/ 4 December 2007
A civil society organisation says it is to launch Equality Court proceedings on behalf of an Eastern Cape youth said to have been forcibly circumcised. It claims the youth was subjected to traditional circumcision in March this year after he had himself circumcised at East London’s Frere Hospital three months earlier.
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/ 4 December 2007
The predominantly Afrikaner settlement of Orania in the Northern Cape has been granted a community broadcast licence by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa). The licence is valid from December 1 this year to November 30 2011, after which the community can apply for an extension.
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/ 4 December 2007
A soft landing for the residential property market is expected after strong double-digit growth between 2003 and 2006, Standard Bank said on Tuesday. The bank’s median house-price index moderated to 6,5% year-on-year in November following a relatively strong growth of 10,2% y/y recorded in October.
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/ 4 December 2007
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) launched a one-day strike on Tuesday to protest against deaths in the country’s mines, disrupting operations across the world’s top producer of platinum and gold. Almost a quarter of a million union members were set to down tools in the first industry-wide strike on safety, as the death toll mounted to about 200.
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/ 4 December 2007
South Africa’s new vehicle sales dropped by 13,8% to 47 707 units in November compared with the same month last year, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa) said on Tuesday. Naamsa said trading conditions remained under severe pressure mainly due to higher interest rates and record high household debt levels.
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/ 4 December 2007
A march by gender activists in protest at the African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League nominations of mostly men for the party’s top six positions would take place this week. Chief executive of the Gender and Media Southern Africa network Kubi Rama on Tuesday said the women would participate in the march on Wednesday.
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/ 4 December 2007
Resource heavyweights Anglo American and BHP Billiton continued to weigh on the JSE in midday trade on Tuesday, with the all-share pulling back almost half a percent from its earlier levels. By midday, the JSE all-share index dropped 0,69% as resources gave up 0,96%. The gold-mining index shed 0,12% but the platinum-mining index improved 0,42%. Industrials lost 0,53%.
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/ 4 December 2007
South Africa has abolished the use of border passes which were being used by Beitbridge residents to travel to Musina as part of their new immigration regulations. The use of the temporary travel document was scrapped with immediate effect from November 15 this year, a media report said.
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/ 4 December 2007
Paramedics have confirmed that four people were injured after a taxi turf war broke out involving taxi associations from around Durban on Tuesday. Police said some associations were attempting a takeover of a taxi rank. The incident happened just three hours before the unveiling of the province’s summer-holiday road-safety plan.
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/ 4 December 2007
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) launched a one-day national strike on Tuesday to protest against deaths in the country’s mines, disrupting operations across the world’s top producer of platinum and gold. Almost a quarter of a million NUM members are expected to down tools in the first industry-wide strike on safety.
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/ 4 December 2007
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In the fierce debate raging around the man tipped to become South Africa’s next president, African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma, there are few neutrals. With less than a fortnight to go before the ruling party’s national conference in Polokwane, reports show a country split over the politician.
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/ 4 December 2007
Former South Africa opening batsman Gary Kirsten has delayed taking over as India coach, saying he wants assurances from the players over the job. ”I have heard rumours about some senior players expressing their concern about my possible appointment and I would prefer to have clarity on that before I commit myself,” Kirsten said.
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/ 4 December 2007
A leading South African heart surgeon pleaded on Monday, the 40th anniversary of the world’s first heart transplant, for more government support for medical research. Professor Johan Brink was speaking at the opening of a refurbished transplant museum at the hospital.
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/ 3 December 2007
Higher inflation and deterioration in South Africa’s current account over the past year highlight the need for more balanced growth, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday. But it appeared that growth was becoming more balanced, with tentative signs that consumption was easing on higher interest rates, he said in a written reply to a parliamentary question.
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/ 3 December 2007
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has declined to discuss the withdrawal of its protection services for South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande. ”It’s not something we can discuss in the public domain,” said national police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Vish Naidoo on Monday.
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/ 3 December 2007
The introduction of prepaid water meters in Phiri, Soweto, was unlawful and violated the residents’ constitutional right to equality, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Monday. Court 6F was filled with members of the Inner-City Resource Centre and the Coalition against Water Privatisation — all in support of the Phiri residents.
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/ 3 December 2007
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South African President Thabo Mbeki and his arch-rival, Jacob Zuma, have both officially confirmed they are candidates for party chief of the African National Congress (ANC), their offices said Monday. ”Mr Jacob Zuma signed the ANC nomination form over the weekend in London,” Zuma’s spokesperson, Ranjeni Munusamy, said.
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/ 3 December 2007
The press council, the press ombudsman and the press appeals panel on Monday jointly announced the publication of the South African Press Code booklet. The booklet is intended ”for use by journalists and the public in pursuit of excellence in journalism”.
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/ 3 December 2007
Acting commissioner of civil aviation Gawie Bestbier has upheld the suspension of Nationwide airlines by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). ”He reviewed both parties’ statements and made an independent decision earlier today [Monday],” CAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said. She said Bestbier gave Nationwide guidelines on how to meet the CAA’s requirements.
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/ 3 December 2007
The strike by construction workers at the 20101 World Cup Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, entered its fifth day on Monday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said. Workers affiliated to the NUM downed tools on Wednesday last week demanding better pay and working conditions.
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/ 3 December 2007
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The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday rejected calls for President Thabo Mbeki to step down as president of the country in the event African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma is elected party head in Polokwane. Cosatu will oppose Mbeki ”stepping down before his term of office expires,” it said in a statement.