No image available
/ 1 November 2007
Kaizer Chiefs left behind their inconsistent ways by taking down Free State Stars 3-0 in wet conditions in their Absa Premiership match played at Olympia Park in Rustenburg on Wednesday night. Kinnah Phiri’s charges collapsed when it mattered most — in the second half — as Mabhuti Khanyeza, Onismor Bhasera and Shaun Bartlett scored goals.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Closing specialised police units may result in a loss of informer networks, expertise and team spirit, a seminar on policing in South Africa heard on Wednesday. ”To destroy this is a very serious thing that needs to be thought through,” said a senior researcher with the Institute for Security Studies, Johan Burger.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Four candidates have been shortlisted to take Springbok coach Jake White’s place, SA Rugby confirmed on Wednesday. They are: Alistair Coetzee (currently one of White’s assistants), Pieter de Villiers (national under-21 coach), Heyneke Meyer (Bulls head coach) and Chester Williams (1995 World Cup winner).
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
South African President Thabo Mbeki has repeated his willingness to stand for re-election as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) if the party asks him, state radio reported on Wednesday. ANC branches have started the process of nominating candidates for party president ahead of a party conference in December.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
The Cape Town City council on Wednesday upheld the metro disciplinary committee’s recommendation that leader of the National People’s Party (NPP) Badih Chaaban be expelled as councillor. Chief whip of the council Anthea Serritslev said a full sitting of council voted in favour of Chaaban’s expulsion.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Former spy boss Billy Masetlha was on Wednesday accused of not being consistent in testifying in the Hatfield Community Court. Prosecutor Matric Luphondo said Masetlha gave different versions of when a report requested by Inspector General of Intelligence Zolile Ngcakani was compiled. Masetlha is charged with contravening the Intelligence Services Oversight Act.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Murder accused Fred van der Vyver’s alibi had been proved beyond reasonable doubt and he should be found not guilty, his advocate told the Cape High Court on Wednesday. Van der Vyver (25) is accused of killing his student girlfriend Inge Lotz with a hammer at her Stellenbosch flat on the afternoon of March 16 2005.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
His accomplices ”forced” him to have sex with a dead woman, Ncamile Mantashe (28) told the Grahamstown High Court on Wednesday. Mantashe was testifying against Caswell Nkanunu (26) and Sibongile Ncapayi (36), who stand accused of raping, murdering and robbing a 47-year-old woman in her home in December 2004.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk still faces a court challenge from the abalone industry even though he backed down on Wednesday from a harvesting ban. The ban, prompted by rapidly declining stocks, was to have come into effect on Thursday. It would have halted all commercial harvesting of the threatened shellfish from the wild.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
A disagreement broke out on Wednesday over whether University of Johannesburg (UJ) students would honour a memorandum of agreement on fee increases. While the independent mediator called in to resolve the dispute claimed an agreement ending the impasse was in place, the Student Representative Council said no accord had yet been reached.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
South African police are investigating alleged abuses at billionaire United States television magnate Oprah Winfrey’s all-girl leadership academy, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday. Rapport newspaper has reported a matron at the school allegedly fondled one of the pupils, and grabbed a girl by the throat and threw her against a wall.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
The government’s key Working for Water programme, aimed at eradicating invasive alien plants that cause billions of rands’ damage to the economy each year, appears set to fall further and further behind in its efforts to contain the problem. Alien plants have so far invaded about 8% of the country.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
The European Union is threatening to ban the import of South African animal products because the government has failed to meet certain requirements agreed on five years ago, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday. The ban would cover South African beef, mutton, pork, chicken, ostrich and game products, among others.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Botswana police and wildlife guards are torturing Bushmen arrested for hunting, Survival International claimed on Wednesday. They made three Bushmen run through the desert in blistering heat for hours while chasing them in vehicles, Survival said in a statement.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
According to research, 70% of young children who have a parent in jail develop emotional problems, the Wynberg Regional Court heard from a psychiatrist on Wednesday. Rosa Bredenkamp was testifying before Western Cape Regional Court president Robert Henney in support of Najwa Petersen’s second bail application.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
A toy gun was used in a six-hour hostage drama in Lenasia on Wednesday, police said. ”The gun that was used looked very real,” said police spokesperson Captain Julia Klaassen. ”Negotiators did their job well. We are just thankful and relieved that the situation is now over.” The hostages’ ordeal occurred when a 20-year-old Durban man held up the family of four at their home.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
KwaZulu-Natal opposition parties on Wednesday accused the ruling African National Congress of ignoring the wishes of the residents of Matatiele and forging ahead with the district’s incorporation into the Eastern Cape. The Democratic Alliance (DA) accused the ANC of ”totally ignoring the wishes of the people of Matatiele Maluti”.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Publication of the fact that a person is a client of a specific bank does not infringe privacy rights, according to Cape Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso. She made the finding in a written judgement, handed down this week, on a bid by FirstRand to prevent magazine noseweek publishing the names of clients involved in an allegedly dodgy tax scheme.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa refused to be drawn on his nomination as African National Congress president on Wednesday night at the launch of a fund-raising campaign for the University of Venda. He was hounded for an answer from the minute he set foot through the door of Gallagher Estate, in Midrand.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund announced on Wednesday it would not participate in this year’s Nelson Mandela Invitational Golf Tournament. ”As a result of our withdrawal the tournament can no longer be called the Nelson Mandela Invitational and should not be marketed as such in any form whatsoever,” the fund said in a statement.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
The restructuring of the police service was causing a drop in morale, South African Police Union spokesperson Barries Machakela told a seminar in Pretoria on Wednesday. ”We support restructuring, but the way it is done is not proper. Morale is low, members are disillusioned,” he said.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R4,3-billion in September, compared to August’s R9,1-billion shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters last week had forecast a deficit of R6,4-billion, but the number is notoriously volatile and hard to predict.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
A bitter Jake White announced on Wednesday that he is to quit as coach of South Africa’s World Cup-winning rugby team, accusing Springbok bosses of bouncing him out of the job. White, who has been linked to coaching positions with rival national sides, said he would take the team to Britain next month for matches against Wales the Barbarians.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Departure and arrival halls at Lanseria Airport outside Johannesburg are being upgraded to cater for increased passenger volumes and security requirements for scheduled operations as the airport expands to help relieve the pressure at OR Tambo International Airport.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
A 20-year-old Durban man who held a Lenasia South family hostage for nearly six hours on Wednesday has given himself up. Donovan Naidoo had earlier released two of the hostages, 23-year-old Denise Bathman and her one-year-old son Jodash. He later released the other two hostages, 27-year-old Gerald Bathman and 16-year-old Praise Archary.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
The suspension of abalone fishing has been postponed to February 1 next year, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Wednesday. Instead of the ban coming into effect on Thursday, as originally planned, a substantially reduced total allowable catch of 75 tons would now be permitted during the interim.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
In South Africa, the rising phenomenon of sex tourism is often overlooked.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Mpumalanga-based Sipho Ngomane aims to stamp his authority at the Nedbank Soweto Marathon on Sunday. After his Comrades Marathon victory two years ago, Ngomane seemed to fade owing to a spate of injuries. He finished eighth in his attempt to defend his down-run title earlier this year.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Call it an amazing coincidence or something worth a disbelieving mention in Ripley’s Believe it or Not. But with Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs kept apart and drawn to play Free State Stars and Bloemfontein Celtic in Telkom Knockout semifinals in 10 days, finding the match-ups reversed in league games on Wednesday is undoubtedly a mathematical phenomenon.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Crime and violence are a way of life in South Africa and, according to David Bruce of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, respect for justice and the law needs to be fostered. Bruce was speaking at a seminar on <i>The State of Criminal Justice: Building Respect for Justice and Human Rights</i> in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
Gold Fields announced on Wednesday that two employees lost their lives in the morning in an underground accident at the number four shaft of Kloof Gold Mine, near Westonaria. Two other mine employees were injured, one seriously. The four were part of a 10-man team working in a stope on 41 level, approximately 3Â 000m below surface.
No image available
/ 31 October 2007
A tired but elated Proteas cricket team flew into OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday night carrying two silver trophies from their tour of Pakistan. The South Africans won the Test series one-nil, and secured a three-two victory in the one-day international series with a thrilling win in Lahore on Monday.