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/ 2 November 2007

SA’s future marathon gold

With prospects of yet another foreigner winning the Soweto Marathon, Athletics South Africa has decided to invest in the future of the sport. And that future, it says, lies with middle-distance runners such as 24-year-old University of Free State star Boy Soke. On Sunday, Soke will run the 10km route of the Soweto road race.

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/ 2 November 2007

Manuel: High hopes for Doha

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Friday at a <i>Financial Mail</i> medium-term budget briefing that the world had changed in the past 12 years and developing countries needed to become more involved in the world trade regime or else they would just be following the procession.

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/ 2 November 2007

Scorpions boss in fraud probe

Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel is under police investigation for fraud and corruption, a media report said on Friday. Nel led the investigation into the shooting of mining magnate Brett Kebble and led the state’s aborted probe into alleged criminal activity by police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi.

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/ 1 November 2007

Commuters hurt in East Rand taxi-violence shoot-out

Two commuters and a taxi driver were injured when they were caught in the crossfire of a taxi-violence shoot-out in Edenvale on Thursday. Ekurhuleni metro police spokesperson Inspector Jimmy Maboko said between 100 and 150 members of the Germiston Taxi Association and the Tembisa Taxi Association had gathered and began shooting at each other.

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/ 1 November 2007

Matatiele closer to E Cape incorporation

The district of Matatiele moved a step closer to being permanently incorporated into the Eastern Cape after the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday voted by a narrow margin in favour of the controversial Constitution 13th Amendment Bill. Heated debate between opposition parties and the ruling African National Congress preceded the vote.

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/ 1 November 2007

Court urged to release Najwa Petersen on bail

The release on bail of Najwa Petersen, accused of the murder of her entertainer husband, Taliep, was essential to save her young daughter from long-term emotional damage, Cape Town psychologist Rosa Bredenkamp told the Wynberg Regional Court on Thursday. Petersen has launched a second bail application after her first was rejected.

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/ 1 November 2007

Tourism booms in Gauteng

Gauteng tourism is one of the best performing sectors in the province — recording an annual growth of more than 10%, economists said on Thursday. Mike Schüssler, economist at T-Sec, said over 9,4-million people walked through the turnstiles at the OR Tambo International Airport from January up to September this year.

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/ 1 November 2007

University protest results in 150 arrests

About 150 students were arrested at a South African university overnight in the latest in a series of violent campus protests, police said on Thursday. About 1&nbsp;000 students of the University of Limpopo’s Turfloop campus in the north of the country went on the rampage, breaking windows and throwing stones at passing cars late on Wednesday evening.

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/ 1 November 2007

Govt to pump R100-million into fish farms

The government is to invest R100-million next year in six marine fish-farming projects, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced on Thursday. ”There are huge opportunities in marine aquaculture, which will not only reduce the pressure on wild stocks, but provide new economic opportunities,” he said.

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/ 1 November 2007

More cops not the answer to crime, seminar hears

Tackling crime required community involvement and could not merely be solved with more police officers, a seminar on policing in Pretoria heard on Thursday. ”Because crime is a social problem, [there] has to be a social solution, involving more players than just the police,” Temba Mathe of the National Secretariat for Safety and Security said.

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/ 1 November 2007

PMI jumps to 56,1 as new sales rise

South Africa’s purchasing managers index (PMI) rebounded sharply to 56,1 in October, as robust demand pushed new sales orders up, sponsor Investec said on Thursday. The index, which measures underlying manufacturing activity, leapt from a near two-year low of 51,6 in September and snapped a two-month decline.

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/ 1 November 2007

Sundowns, Bucs made to fight for victory

It might not have been the kind of ”Hand of God” goal that Diego Maradona immortalised, but battling Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns secured a much-needed 1-0 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic at the Free State Rugby Stadium on Wednesday night with what could be termed ”a gift from the gods”.

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/ 1 November 2007

JSE turns around on profit-taking

After being up about 280 points from its previous close at one stage, the JSE had turned around by midday on Thursday in what traders described as "solid profit-taking." By noon, the all-share index was off 0,31%, led by a 0,57% fall in resources, a 0,98% decline in the gold-mining index and a 1,58% easing in the platinum-mining index.

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/ 1 November 2007

Rwanda tribunal’s most wanted remains elusive

Félicien Kabuga has a reward of several million dollars on his head, and tops the list of fugitives of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Yet, he’s managed to escape justice for years. The ICTR was set up in northern Tanzania by the United Nations in 1995 to bring high-level perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide to justice.

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/ 1 November 2007

AngloGold: Profits flat, may trim hedge book

AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third biggest gold producer, reported flat third-quarter headline earnings per share on Thursday after costs rose, undermining an increase in gold output. AngloGold’s new chief executive officer Mark Cutifani said the firm was reviewing its operations with a view to disposing of assets that did not add value

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/ 1 November 2007

Chiefs score three for rare victory

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.

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/ 31 October 2007

Warning against closing elite police units

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.

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/ 31 October 2007

Four candidates for Bok job announced

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).

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/ 31 October 2007

Mbeki willing to lead ANC again

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.

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/ 31 October 2007

Chaaban removed from council meeting

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.

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/ 31 October 2007

Masetlha accused of being inconsistent in testifying

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.