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/ 15 November 2007

Premier misled legislature, inquiry finds

An official inquiry has concluded that Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled his legislature, a source in the legislature said on Thursday. The multiparty inquiry was set up to investigate contradictory statements last year on spending on security upgrades to the home of community safety minister Leonard Ramatlakane.

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/ 15 November 2007

Dissent causes chaos at Kapdi drug trial

The Nazier Kapdi drug case in the Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town deteriorated into acrimonious exchanges on Thursday, with a defence lawyer saying the trial was ”disgustingly unfair”. The chaos erupted over a technicality involving documents that prosecutor Greg Wolmarans should have handed to the defence team.

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/ 15 November 2007

Group Five, union locked in 2010 stadium talks

Group Five and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) were on Thursday locked in negotiations in a bid to stop the strike at the Moses Mabhida Stadium from spreading to other 2010 stadiums under construction. NUM national spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said the two sides had met on Wednesday evening and talks had resumed again on Thursday morning.

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/ 15 November 2007

DA launches website to evaluate Cabinet ministers

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the public to hold government to account by participating in the party’s process of evaluating Cabinet ministers. Briefing the media during the launch of the party’s Cabinet report card website, DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said the process accorded the public a rare opportunity to rate government ministers.

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/ 15 November 2007

Policeman fights for life after mall shoot-out

A Durban policeman is undergoing emergency surgery after he was shot twice in the chest while trying to apprehend armed robbers fleeing a crime scene, police said on Thursday. Four armed robbers hit the Beverley Jewellery store at the Pavilion mall in Westville at about 10am and Detective Andre Mostert of the Berea police station intervened.

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/ 15 November 2007

Win or wilderness for Cup minnows

Defeat is too terrible to contemplate for six African minnows when they clash in 2010 World Cup qualifiers this weekend. Failure means three years in the wilderness because the fixtures double as 2010 African Nations Cup qualifiers and the losers will not play competitively again until late that year.

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/ 15 November 2007

R1-billion ‘looted’ from Land Bank

R1-billion was ”looted” from the Land Bank, the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs said on Wednesday. ”The amounts reported as ‘looted’ in the weekend newspapers are inaccurate,” said ministry spokesperson Godfrey Mdhluli. The Sunday Times reported that top Land Bank officials had siphoned off more than R2-billion meant for farmers.

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/ 15 November 2007

AmaZulu take shine off Platinum Stars

AmaZulu collected three points away from home when they beat a determined Platinum Stars in their Absa Premier League game at the Olympia Park Stadium on Wednesday night. The game started at a frenetic pace, with AmaZulu threatening the home side and visiting their goalmouth on several occasions in the first ten minutes.

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/ 15 November 2007

Piet Koornhof, a man of contradictions

Piet Koornhof, who died in a Stellenbosch frail care centre on Monday at the age of 82, following a stroke, was a man of contradictions. Seen as a ”verligte” in successive apartheid-era Cabinets, the posts he accepted carried responsibility for some of apartheid’s most bizarre and inhumane policies.

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/ 15 November 2007

Downs, Chiefs in goalless draw

Telkom Knockout finalists Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns failed to imprint a psychological advantage for their cup clash next month in a goalless draw at King’s Park Stadium on Wednesday night. After Ajax Cape Town clobbered Moroka Swallows 4-1 in Cape Town, Chiefs now trail the log leaders by a massive 10 points.

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/ 15 November 2007

Matatiele residents march on Maritzburg

Matatiele residents were set to march through Pietermaritzburg on Thursday to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in protest over their incorporation into the Eastern Cape. Matatiele-Maluti Mass Action Organising Committee chairperson Mandla Galo said that at least 45 minibus taxis had transported residents to Pietermaritzburg.

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/ 15 November 2007

Piet Koornhof cremated in Stellenbosch

Former Cabinet minister Dr Piet Koornhof has been cremated in Stellenbosch in what was apparently a hush-hush service, a media report said on Thursday. Koornhof died on Monday at the age of 82. This follows reports that Koornhof’s former partner, Marcelle Adams, who was planning to fly to Cape Town from Germany, cancelled her plans.

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/ 15 November 2007

Leopards lose to Celtic 1-0

Bloemfontein Celtic beat the Limpopo-based Black Leopards 1-0 in a fast, entertaining Absa Premier League game played at Giyani Stadium on Wednesday night. Leopards’ coach, Boebie Solomons, could not believe his eyes when defender Luvhengo Mungomeni scored an own goal trying to clear four minutes before halftime.

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/ 15 November 2007

JSE remains negative on world markets

The JSE continued to follow the downward trend in international markets at midday on Thursday, remaining firmly in the red. By 11.58am, the JSE’s all-share index lost 0,7%. The gold mining index gave up 0,8% and resources fell 0,7%, but the platinum mining index added 0,57%.

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/ 14 November 2007

New medical aid launched — for pets

A medical-aid scheme for cats and dogs has been launched, the company behind the initiative said on Wednesday. ”It’s hard enough for us as humans to wade through the multitude of options available to us from the various medical-aid offerings, so a simple one for dogs and cats is as essential for their owners,” Medipet SA said.

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/ 14 November 2007

ANC branch denies having nomination list

The Sandton branch of the African National Congress (ANC) has not drawn up or endorsed any list of desired candidates for ANC leadership positions due to be determined later this year. The branch responded on Wednesday to a City Press article published this week that alleged the party had created such a list.

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/ 14 November 2007

Jo’burg Open confident of enduring success

The Jo’burg Open will again be hosted at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club from January 9 to 13 after a successful inaugural tournament held at the same venue last year. A total of 204 international and local players are expected to tee up in the tournament worth an overall cash prize of €1,1-million.