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/ 29 October 2007

Ramaphosa’s the man, says Kader Asmal

Senior African National Congress (ANC) member Kader Asmal on Monday called on hundreds of the ruling party’s influential branches to back business tycoon Cyril Ramaphosa as the next president of the ruling party and the country. Ramaphosa has said he has no interest in becoming South Africa’s next president.

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/ 29 October 2007

SA musicians set to rock against Aids

Former president Nelson Mandela was at the Ellis Park stadium on Monday to greet the South African artists who had agreed to perform in his fifth 46664 concert aimed at fighting HIV/Aids. Johnny Clegg, Arno Carstens, Loyiso and the Soweto Gospel Choir are just some of the local stars scheduled to appear at the 46664 concert later this year.

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/ 29 October 2007

Cape Town welcomes winning Boks

Capetonians turned out in their tens of thousands on Monday to salute the victorious Springboks on the final leg of their national victory tour. There were scenes of near-hysteria as the Boks made their way through the city centre in an open-top bus. Businesses shut down, and young and old lined the streets, crammed on to balconies.

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/ 29 October 2007

Minister says aviation key to tourism growth

Aviation is the key to boosting growth in South Africa’s tourism industry, says the Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk. A total of 27,6% of all tourists arrived in the country by air, he said in a speech prepared for delivery at his department’s sixth annual tourism conference.

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/ 29 October 2007

SA stars set for Mandela Aids concert

Former president Nelson Mandela was at the Ellis Park stadium on Monday to greet the South African artists who had agreed to perform in his fifth 46664 concert aimed at fighting HIV/Aids. Johnny Clegg, Arno Carstens, Loyiso, the Parlotones, Prime Circle and the Soweto Gospel Choir are just some of the local stars scheduled to appear at the 46664 concert later this year.

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/ 29 October 2007

Body-parts accused pleads guilty

A KwaZulu-Natal woman accused of stealing a placenta pleaded guilty to the crime at the Durban Regional Court on Monday. Hloniphile Sokhela was charged with theft and contravening the Human Tissue Act. The mother of two stole a placenta from a storage room at Parklands Hospital on October 6.

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/ 29 October 2007

DA: Deal with taxi violence before 2010

Concrete moves are needed to address conflict in the Johannesburg taxi industry ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, following the shooting of a passenger and a driver on the West Rand, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. Proper enforcement of laws and a body ”with teeth” would contribute to passenger safety, said Barnes.

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/ 29 October 2007

JSE higher on miners and resources

As gold and platinum prices climbed on a weaker dollar, the JSE’s gold mining index and resources continued to lift the all-share index on Monday. By noon, the JSE’s all-share index was up 1,25% as the gold mining index progressed 2,1%. Resources rose 1,93% and the platinum mining index picked up 1,86%.

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/ 29 October 2007

Cellphone operators plan $50bn investment in Africa

The cellphone industry plans to invest more than $50-billion in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years to provide more than 90% of the population with coverage, the GSM Association announced on Monday. The investment will be used to extend the reach of GSM mobile networks and to provide a rich suite of mobile multimedia services, including internet access.

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/ 28 October 2007

Cosatu: Alliance won’t survive Mbeki re-election

The tripartite alliance will not survive if Thabo Mbeki is re-elected president of the African National Congress in December, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said on Sunday. ”A status quo will see the destruction of the alliance itself,” he told what was in essence a Jacob Zuma election rally in Kimberley.

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/ 28 October 2007

Vietnamese embassy official shot

An official of the Vietnamese embassy to South Africa was shot and seriously injured in a robbery at his Pretoria residence at the weekend, police said on Sunday. The man, believed to be in his late forties, was shot in the stomach in a scuffle with one of five intruders who surprised the official, his wife and two children at home on Saturday evening.

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/ 28 October 2007

Slowdown takes shine off SA’s mini-budget

As South Africa’s economic growth slows and inflation heats up, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will present a medium-term budget on Tuesday with decidedly less to smile about than six months ago. While analysts expect Manuel to be more cautious in his revenue predictions, they believe past prudence has left him with enough room for manoeuvre.

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/ 27 October 2007

Cheetahs edge Lions in Currie Cup thriller

Three yellow cards, two of them on the advice of the touch judges, played a huge part in the Absa Currie Cup final played at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Saturday, which saw the Free State Cheetahs beat the Lions 20-18. The Cheetahs, with the victory, retained their hold on the Currie Cup that they had shared with the Blue Bulls in the 2006 final.

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/ 27 October 2007

Boks thank Madiba for his magic

South Africa’s nationwide Rugby World Cup tour continued on Saturday with a visit to Soweto followed by an audience with former president Nelson Mandela. The Nobel Peace Prize winner greeted the team wearing the Boks’ gold and green shirt that he had famously worn to mark their first World Cup win in 1995.

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/ 27 October 2007

Free State turns orange ahead of Currie Cup final

The Free State may have lost the ”Orange” part of its name in the new South Africa, but Bloemfontein was a sea of orange as the city prepared for the Currie Cup final between the Cheetahs and the Lions on Saturday afternoon. Almost every vehicle in the city streets sported an orange Cheetahs flag, and orange was the colour to wear.

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/ 27 October 2007

Soweto residents cheer on the Boks

Soweto residents left their houses to cheer on the Springbok rugby team on its victory parade through the Johannesburg township on Saturday morning. A handful of cheering residents, some still in their night-gowns, braved the rain to greet the Rugby World Cup winners as they passed the Maponya Mall in an open-top bus.

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/ 27 October 2007

Sundowns shine in the rain

Those in Pretoria might have ignored the inclement weather in massive numbers to pay homage to the triumphant Springbok rugby players, but Mamelodi Sundowns’ recent sketchy form was enough to keep the fans indoors on Friday night as the Premier Soccer League champions regained much of their poise and form in beating Thanda Royal Zulu 3-1.