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/ 6 December 2007
An overstretched judiciary is hampering attempts to prosecute those responsible for mining accidents, South Africa’s minerals and energy minister said on Thursday. Mining companies in South Africa, the world’s top source of platinum and gold, are under pressure to improve safety at mines, where about 200 workers have been killed this year.
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/ 6 December 2007
Three people were killed and the N3 to Durban was closed on Thursday morning after a truck veered into another lane, leading to a massive pile-up, a KwaZulu-Natal transport department spokesperson said. Zinhle Mngomezulu said a truck travelling to Johannesburg left its lane at about 6am and ended up facing the traffic that was heading to Durban.
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/ 6 December 2007
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Some of the most respected figures in the African National Congress (ANC) could be excluded from the party’s national executive committee should deputy president Jacob Zuma win the race for the ANC presidency, a media report said on Thursday.
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/ 6 December 2007
Urgent action is needed to improve South Africa’s education, economist Mike Schussler said on Thursday. The country’s education standards needed to be raised "dramatically", he said at the release of the sixth <i>South African Employment Report</i> by the United Associations of South Africa trade union.
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/ 6 December 2007
The Cabinet has approved an electricity master plan for the country to plug a gap that has led to criticism of the failure to plan energy needs over the long term. Elaborating on the plan at a media briefing on Thursday, Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica said that the plan "is a high-level plan, and not necessarily a pronouncement of new policy".
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/ 6 December 2007
Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s office did not want to comment on the plea bargaining and 10-year suspended sentence for drug trafficking handed down to Glenn Agliotti on Wednesday. Spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said: ”You must have noticed it was a Scorpions’ case so you will have to phone them.”
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/ 6 December 2007
Teasers boss Lolly Jackson has become a victim of crime for the fifth time in three years, he said on Thursday. One of the strip club owner’s homes in Bedfordview was robbed on Wednesday, when two armed men accessed the secure property and held the women living there at gunpoint.
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/ 6 December 2007
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A member of the African National Congress has launched a legal bid to postpone the party’s conference this month, citing divisions over its leadership and breaches of the Bill of Rights, local media said on Thursday. Lawyer and ANC member Votani Majola would seek an interdict at the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.
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/ 6 December 2007
The klebsiella death toll at Durban’s Prince Mshiyeni Hospital has risen to six. This follows the deaths of five other babies at the hospital two weeks ago. The deceased’s mother, Lungile Ngema, said that nurses had taunted her, saying mothers who gave birth at home brought the disease to the hospital.
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/ 6 December 2007
The JSE posted strong gains in early trade on Thursday ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee’s interest rate decision expected later in the afternoon, with higher world markets adding some incentive for buying interest. At 9.21am, the all-share index was up 0,73% as the platinum mining index gained 1,19%.
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/ 6 December 2007
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President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday he hoped the African National Congress (ANC) would discuss floor-crossing at its national conference in Polokwane this month. Speaking in a South African Broadcasting Corporation radio interview, he said the ANC had been opposed to floor-crossing when the issue was first raised by opposition parties.
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/ 6 December 2007
Life seemed to be starting all over at 42 for former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana legend John ”Shoes” Moshoeu when he scored the equalising goal for AmaZulu against his old club in a 1-1 PSL draw at a rowdy King’s Park in Durban on Wednesday night.
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/ 6 December 2007
Robert Mugabe, a largely unwelcome guest of the European Union at a summit this weekend, is a hero in the eyes of many Africans for daring to stand up to the West and seize land from white farmers. Many in Europe have been left scratching their heads over how Zimbabwe’s president since independence still commands respect.
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/ 5 December 2007
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The outcome of the African National Congress’s (ANC) leadership contest is up to its membership and the contest should not be seen in a negative light, President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday. The people nominated were ”not nominated because they are enemies”, and should not treat one another as such.
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/ 5 December 2007
A reported spat between Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya and Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota was an indication of how the divisions within the African National Congress (ANC) were running through the Cabinet, a political analyst said on Wednesday.
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/ 5 December 2007
The Erasmus Commission of Inquiry probing Cape Town’s ”spy saga” is calling for public submissions on the matter. The commission, headed by Judge Nathan Erasmus, has already started studying all available documentation relating to the issue, commission secretary Zithulele Twala said on Wednesday.
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/ 5 December 2007
The South African National Editors’ Forum has welcomed the withdrawal of criminal charges laid by police against a journalist who was arrested while covering a car accident in Lenasia on Tuesday. The journalist was covering an accident involving a police truck transporting prisoners when he was arrested by police.
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/ 5 December 2007
Nationwide is hopeful it could have a plane in the air on Friday, the company said on Wednesday. ”That’s what we’re hoping, but it’s not guaranteed,” said Nationwide spokeswoman Charmaine Thome. ”We don’t want to get people’s hopes up.” If possible, a plane would fly to London on Friday, she said.
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/ 5 December 2007
Hundreds of men and women, including Cabinet ministers, marched in Pretoria on Wednesday in support of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign. The crowd marched from Sammy Marks Square to the Union Buildings to hand over a memorandum calling for more to be done for gender equality.
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/ 5 December 2007
Four men were arrested in Johannesburg on Wednesday in connection with a string of robberies of tourists at OR Tambo International Airport, police said. ”The men were arrested in Hillbrow and Yeoville around 2am this morning,” said police spokesperson Sergeant Sanku Tsunke.
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/ 5 December 2007
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According to the Democratic Alliance (DA), the broadcast by President Thabo Mbeki on 15 South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio stations on Wednesday evening confirms for South African listeners at large the conviction that the public broadcaster is a party organ.
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/ 5 December 2007
The business confidence index (BCI), after dipping to 96,9 in October, dropped further to 95,8 in November, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday. ”The November 2007 BCI is the lowest level of the BCI since February 2004 and yet another new low for 2007,” the chamber said.
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/ 5 December 2007
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South Africa’s economic boom looks set to persist but concerns linger over the direction of policy after the crucial African National Congress (ANC) conference, which seems likely to choose Jacob Zuma as the ruling party’s new leader. Economic growth jumped to 5,4% in 2006 — its fastest rate since 1981 — and wealth is spreading to a burgeoning black middle class.
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/ 5 December 2007
Glenn Agliotti, once called the ”Landlord” and an associate of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi, on Wednesday pleaded and was found guilty of dealing in drugs. He appeared in the Germiston Regional Court for a special plea and sentencing agreement. Agliotti is also accused of the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble.
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/ 5 December 2007
Political interference, red tape and legislation are among the factors slowing the City of Cape Town’s housing projects, mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. Delivery of housing opportunities had been delayed and several causes of this identified, she told the last full council meeting of the year. A shortage of project managers in the housing department was a major factor.
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/ 5 December 2007
South Africa’s manufacturing output recovered in October to grow an unadjusted 5,2% year-on-year in volume terms, after contracting 1,4% in September, official data showed on Wednesday. Compared with September, manufacturing production rose a seasonally-adjusted 7,2% in October, Statistics South Africa said.
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/ 5 December 2007
The Department of Home Affairs said on Wednesday that it had not abolished border passes for Zimbabweans, as was reported in a number of newspapers. "There is no such thing as a border pass," said a statement from the department.
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/ 5 December 2007
South Africa said on Wednesday it would not sign a new trade pact with the European Union until its concerns over possible "detrimental impacts" new accords could have on Africa had been addressed. "South Africa is very much opposed to the inclusion of certain trade and services clauses," Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General Gert Grobler told journalists.
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/ 5 December 2007
<i>News24</i>, the breaking news service in the 24.com stable, has become South Africa’s first website to record more than one million unique South African visitors in a month. But is <i>News24</i>’s achievement an indicator that South Africa is more digitally developed than previously believed?
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/ 5 December 2007
The Gauteng provincial police service received a cash boost of R500 000 on Wednesday for the specialised training of detectives. The South African Insurance Association’s deputy executive officer, Refiloe Moletsane, said the unacceptable levels of crime in the country had prompted the association to assist with the funding of the training programme.
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/ 5 December 2007
The family of Fred van der Vyver, the acquitted accused in the Inge Lotz murder case, intends suing the state for his wrongful prosecution, the Times online reported on Wednesday. Van der Vyver’s father, Louis, said the next logical step would be an investigation into the actions of the detectives responsible for presenting controversial fingerprint evidence.
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/ 5 December 2007
Absa will increase its bank charges by 4,2% on average for 2008, it announced on Wednesday. However, it said a number of products and services would cost less or be free of charge from January 1. The new pricing was aimed at encouraging customers to use the cheaper digital banking rather than going into branches, Absa said in a statement.