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/ 10 October 2007
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The Springboks might be used to hordes of female supporters, but usually they are not of the stature of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sue van der Merwe. In what could be described as a case of all the president’s women, the two politicians would lend ”moral support” to the national side ahead of Sunday’s semifinal.
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/ 10 October 2007
Four miners died in separate, unrelated incidents at Gold Fields mines 10km from each other in Westonaria on Wednesday afternoon. Three of the mine workers were killed when they were hit by a skip loaded with spillage rock in the Four Shaft complex of Kloof Gold Mine near Westonaria on Wednesday, said Gold Fields.
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/ 10 October 2007
A controversial mission by the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to Zimbabwe to assess the situation in that country did not take place because of a lack of funds, PAP president Gertrude Mongella said on Wednesday. The decision on whether the fact-finding mission should still go ahead would be made during the Parliament’s session next week.
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/ 10 October 2007
Sasol and a conservation group clashed on Wednesday, with the petrochemical giant denying building in an environmentally sensitive area without permission. Environment and Conservation Association chairperson Nicole Barlow accused Sasol of erecting luxury offices, without authorisation, along the Natalspruit River in Germiston on Gauteng’s East Rand.
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/ 10 October 2007
World number three Jim Furyk will bid for a third successive Nedbank Golf Challenge victory at Sun City from November 29 to December 2. The presence of American Furyk was confirmed when the field of 12 was named in Johannesburg on Wednesday. British Open champion Padraig Harrington will also be in action, as will South African favourites Ernie Els and Rory Sabbatini.
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/ 10 October 2007
Several labour and civil-society organisations have asked President Thabo Mbeki to hold back on appointing the new South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board and return the list of names approved by the National Assembly last month. ”We have asked him not to appoint them,” the organisations said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
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/ 10 October 2007
The Democratic Alliance (DA) got it wrong when criticising Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya for travelling abroad, his department said on Wednesday. The DA overcalculated the number of overseas visits he made, the number of days he was out of the country and the cost, it said in a statement in his defence.
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/ 10 October 2007
Negotiations between the Scorpions and the late Brett Kebble’s security chief, Clinton Nassif, will be finalised in court on Friday. Scorpions prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the Scorpions had not yet completed discussions with Nassif about his arrest for involvement in alleged drug dealing.
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/ 10 October 2007
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) has expressed concern about the exposure of its members and staff to crime in South Africa. PAP president Gertrude Mongella said both delegates from other countries and staff had been victims of crime since the Parliament’s inception. ”There is so much insecurity — we had several incidents of robbery” she said on Wednesday.
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/ 10 October 2007
Despite having reasonably flexible labour markets and decent foreign direct investment inflows, South Africa is struggling to attract talent, according to a survey released on Wednesday by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
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/ 10 October 2007
Eskom has been caught napping again and has caused massive disruption to the public and the economy, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday. ”Eskom has informed the public too late about load shedding and has caused massive disruptions,” said DA spokesperson on Minerals and Energy Affairs, Hendrik Schmidt.
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/ 10 October 2007
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday expressed shock concerning the Public Protector’s decision to suspend its investigation into allegations of financial misconduct against Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba. ”The DA feels it is far more important that the Public Protector continues his investigation,” DA spokesperson for home affairs Mark Lowe said.
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/ 10 October 2007
Charges against a man accused of participating in the murder of ten KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) women were withdrawn in the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. The state has withdrawn its charges against Zandisile Bhadla Somanikiniki (28), who resides in the Majola, Port St Johns, area but no reasons were given for the withdrawal.
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/ 10 October 2007
The skipper of the Ntini fishing vessel was adamant that his 20-member crew had spotted an iceberg off St Francis Bay on Monday evening, he told Cape Town Radio on Tuesday. The boat’s captain told the station he was certain about the dimensions and location of the iceberg. He had also taken pictures of it.
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/ 10 October 2007
Bottom of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) log and booted out of the Telkom Knockout competition in the first round, Orlando Pirates’ woes continued when they were handed an effective R200 000 fine. ”Pirates were fined R150 000 on charges of crowd misbehaviour and bringing the league into disrepute,” PSL general manager Andrew Dipela announced on Tuesday.
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/ 10 October 2007
The JSE remained firm at midday on Wednesday but was off its earlier all time high of 31 291,74. The initial spurt had been prompted by a record close on Wall Street overnight, but European markets are lower and the United States futures are also negative, which brought the JSE back from its record level reached earlier in the session.
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/ 10 October 2007
Harmony Gold could lose about 600kg of gold at its Elandsrand mine after it launched repairs and a probe into an accident that trapped thousands of workers, an official said on Wednesday. The investigations are expected to last a month at a mine that is one of Harmony’s biggest.
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/ 10 October 2007
South African Airways (SAA) is facing two new challenges: One in its regional market and another on its United States routes. United States airline Delta will start a new non-stop service between Cape Town and New York on June 4. Delta reports passenger loads of more than 80%.
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/ 10 October 2007
Former security chief of the late Brett Kebble, Clinton Nassif, is expected to enter into a plea bargain agreement on Wednesday with the Scorpions after he was arrested in a drug-dealing case. Nassif was added to the list of accused in a drug case that includes Kebble murder-accused Glenn Agliotti, and four others.
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/ 10 October 2007
Parents will have to cough up at least R300 for giving children a clip on the ear if they are prosecuted under the proposed Children’s Act, a media report said on Tuesday. The new law stipulates that no form of corporal punishment is legal and a child may not be punished in a way that is ”cruel, inhuman or degrading”.
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/ 10 October 2007
The University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Doornfontein and Auckland Park Bunting Road campuses remained shut on Wednesday after student protest action at the university this week. UJ spokesperson Sonja Cronje said there were about 10 to 15 protesters toyi-toying outside the main gates of the Doornfontein campus.
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/ 10 October 2007
Southern Africa is on track to form a free trade zone by 2008 and is still considering establishment of a customs union. ”We will be able to meet the deadline of the FTA [Free Trade Area] and we are seeing what we can do to meet the customs union,” Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, a South African trade official.
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/ 10 October 2007
Cocaine with an estimated street value of R2,7-million has been found at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday. Police said the cocaine was hidden in boxes stored in a South African Airways warehouse.
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/ 10 October 2007
No individual’s opinion on who should be elected to the African National Congress’ national leadership took precedence in Gauteng, the party’s new provincial chairperson Paul Mashatile said on Tuesday. Mashatile, reportedly a backer of ANC presidential hopeful Tokyo Sexwale, beat Angie Motshekga in the race to become chairperson at the conference on Sunday.
Those who fought against apartheid are not everyone’s heroes, the Afrikanerbond said on Tuesday. ”These heroes from the ‘struggle’ past are not the only heroes and definitely not everyone’s heroes,” said Afrikanerbond managing director Jan Bosman.
A Pretoria man released his family on Tuesday after holding them hostage for nine hours, police said. Captain Lucas Sithole said the man took his 13-year-old son and 43-year-old wife hostage at their Eldoraigne home on Monday night. ”The man held them at gunpoint and threatened to kill them due to family-related problems,” he said.
Tears of joy flowed on Tuesday when the Richtersveld community got a court order restoring land taken from them seventy years ago. ”I am overwhelmed with joy. I can’t hold back my tears,” said community leader Willem Diergaardt. ”This is a big moment in the history of the Richtersveld.”
Women are being regularly tortured by Zimbabwean security forces for their opposition to President Robert Mugabe’s regime, a report by a leading rights group charged on Tuesday. ”Many of us have been detained more than once and suffered extreme abuse perpetrated by state actors,” Jenni Williams, national coordinator of Women of Zimbabwe Arise, said.
Chief Justice Pius Langa steered clear on Tuesday of the controversy around Cape Judge President John Hlophe and suspended National Director of Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. He told students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban that he knew there were many who wanted him to speak on President Thabo Mbeki’s decision to suspend Pikoli.
Four people were injured and 38 students arrested during protests by University of Johannesburg students on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Constable Sefako Xaba said police were guarding the institution because the management had an interim interdict to prevent the disruption of academic activities.
It is highly unlikely that there could be a massive iceberg off St Francis Bay, a top South African Weather Service marine researcher said on Tuesday. On Monday, the crew of a fishing vessel, the Ntini, reported seeing a massive iceberg — estimated at 25m in length and 25m high.
A high-occupancy vehicle lane between Southgate Mall and the Crown Interchange will be piloted on the M1 North from October 15 to 19, the Gauteng department of public transport, roads and works said on Tuesday. This is part of the ”Transport Month Campaign” in Gauteng.