The stakes will be raised considerably this weekend as the Absa Currie Cup premier division enters its semifinal stage. The two semifinal clashes are the highlight of a bumper weekend on the local rugby calendar that also includes the promotion/relegation play-offs.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has apparently thrown her weight behind leading businessman Tokyo Sexwale for the African National Congress presidency. Meanwhile, audited ANC membership figures have confirmed the Eastern Cape as the party’s strongest province, media reports said on Tuesday.
The lawful decision by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) not to continue its inquiry into Cape Judge President John Hlophe has upset some people, the Black Lawyers’ Association (BLA) said on Tuesday. ”It’s an outcome they don’t like,” BLA president Henry Msimang said.
Johannesburg entrepreneur Mncedisi Eric Maluleka, who joked on board a kulula.com flight about hijacking the aircraft, was found not guilty on Tuesday of jeopardising the safety of an aircraft and its passengers in flight. He appeared in the Bellville Regional Court, before magistrate Clive Linden.
A review of the free-trade treaty between the European Union and South Africa is to top the agenda of a South Africa-EU troika ministerial meeting in Pretoria on Wednesday. South Africa’s ambassador to the EU, Anil Sooklal, said it is hoped the mid-term review of the trade treaty could be finalised during the troika meeting.
Police have rejected as a hoax an email detailing how women are raped in mall toilets, Superintendent Eugene Opperman said on Tuesday. He said the email claims that women are being raped and robbed of their valuables and clothing while in mall restrooms in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
A 31-year-old Eastern Cape man should be jailed for life for raping an elderly woman and trying to kill her husband, the Grahamstown High Court heard on Tuesday. Beneza Allah, of Phumlani, Jansenville, who was 29 at the time of the crimes, appeared before Judge Zamani Nhlangulela.
An HIV/Aids treatment programme is on track in Lusikisiki, contrary to media reports that it was bungled, the Eastern Cape health department said on Tuesday. The department took over the programme initiated by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the NGO Médecins sans Frontiêres in October last year.
Most of the land claims in the Free State and Northern Cape are on schedule to make the cut-off date in March next year, newly appointed regional commissioner Sidney Hlongwane said on Tuesday. He said at least 90% of claims lodged at the two provincial offices have been settled.
A number of electricity substations were to be switched off in Pretoria on Tuesday to assist in load shedding to alleviate a power shortage experienced during the rainy weather, the City of Tshwane said. The substations in the city were be disconnected from 3pm to 5pm, and from 5pm to 7pm.
Consumer confidence declined further during the third quarter of 2007, according to First National Bank and Stellenbosch University’s Bureau of Economic Research’s consumer confidence index (CCI) released on Tuesday. The CCI declined by three index points — from 21 during the second quarter of 2007 to 18 during the third quarter of this year.
South African media group Johnnic Communications (Johncom) on Tuesday announced a proposed change of name to Avusa, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Johncom said the name change to Avusa was relevant because of the ongoing confusion between the company and Johnnic Holdings.
Ships have been put on alert after an iceberg was spotted floating off St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape, the Cape Argus reported on Tuesday. The large white mass, said to be about 35 nautical miles offshore, is estimated to be 25m long and 20m high. It was reported by a single vessel, the Ntini, which was sailing in the area on Monday night.
Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s office has rejected claims that police regulations require Selebi’s suspension while allegations against him are being investigated. Selebi’s spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said on Tuesday a Freedom Front Plus statement in this regard was incorrect.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad will return to South Africa this week after being discharged from a Swedish hospital. Foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa on Tuesday said Pahad was discharged after spending almost a week being treated for an illness.
Heavy rains are set to continue over Gauteng for the next two days, clearing up on Friday and continuing at the weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Tuesday. ”There will be showers over the weekend, and I can’t rule out the possibility of heavy rains,” said forecaster Evert Scholtz.
Renowned golfer Gary Player said on Tuesday he was disappointed that his integrity and support for human rights had been brought into question by his removal from the guest list for the Nelson Mandela Invitational golf tournament. Player’s company was involved in the construction of the Pun Hlaing Golf Club in Rangoon.
Africa is a long way off a common monetary union as the continent continues to struggle to harmonise economic policies, South Africa’s central bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Tuesday. The Organisation of African Unity first mooted the idea of an African Central Bank and common currency in 1963.
South Africa Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Tuesday he would not speak on domestic monetary policy in a speech to a banking conference before an interest-rate decision later this week. ”I have been instructed not to speak about monetary policy here at home … there’s a meeting starting tomorrow [Wednesday], so I can’t speak about that,” he said.
The drug-dealing case against Brett Kebble murder accused Glenn Agliotti and four others has been postponed to March next year. Agliotti, Stephanos Paparas, his father Dimitrio Paparas, and Stanley Poonin appeared in the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Clinton Ronald Nassif (39) was added to the list of accused in the case and appeared in court.
The JSE had edged up slightly by midday on Tuesday as platinum- and gold-mining stocks started to recover earlier losses. By 12pm, the all-share index was 0,08% in the black as the platinum-mining index gained 1,31%, resources lifted 0,72% and the gold-mining index recovered 0,13%. However, banks and financials were off 0,88% and 0,60% respectively.
Nine senior advocates from the Cape Bar, some of them former acting judges, have publicly called on Cape Judge President John Hlophe to quit. ”We believe that there cannot be public confidence in the continuation in office now of Judge Hlophe,” they said in a letter published on Tuesday.
Within minutes of having her kidnapping case struck off the roll, Mama Jackie had swapped her black suit for camouflage military fatigues. Jackie Maarohanye, better known as the ”Angel of Soweto”, danced on the steps of the Protea Magistrate’s Court in Soweto on Monday while hundreds of her pupils cheered her on.
A 31-year-old woman was hit by a rubber bullet fired by police outside the Robin Crest residence in Saratonga Avenue, Johannesburg, during a student protest on Tuesday. Margaret Titsi and her sister were crossing the street at traffic lights when police demanded that they clear the road.
Gary Player has been asked to step down as the host and honorary guest of the Nelson Mandela Invitational golf tournament, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund said on Monday. Player’s company has business ties with Burma, where a golf course he designed is allegedly used by members of the brutal ruling junta.
A settlement has been reached on the Richtersveld community’s troubled land-restitution deal, lawyers said on Monday. They said the settlement would be presented to Land Claims Court Judge Antonie Geldenhuys on Tuesday morning. ”We’ve settled,” said Rudolph Jansen, national director of Lawyers for Human Rights.
An interim court interdict granted to the University of Johannesburg curtailed a protest taking place across the university’s campuses on Monday. About 300 students protested at the university’s Bunting Road and Kingsway campuses. Later in the afternoon, they were joined by students from the Soweto and Doornfontein campuses at the gates to the Kingsway Campus.
Severe weather could cut power this week if it damages electricity pylons and other critical electrical infrastructure, Eskom warned on Monday. The electricity supply was already expected to be ”tight”, the power company said in a statement. It advised consumers to use electricity efficiently and keep on only essential lighting and electrical appliances.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad is still not well enough to travel back to South Africa after being admitted to a Swedish almost a week ago. ”He is stable and improving,” Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Monday when asked at an unrelated press conference about the well-being of her deputy.
National Lottery operator Gidani had sold more than 1,5-million lottery tickets by Monday morning, said its CEO, Bongani Khumalo. ”We have worked hard to meet the start deadline and we are seeing a good start ahead of the first draw to due to take place on Saturday October 13,” he said.
Transnet group chief executive Maria Ramos has moved up two places to become the world’s 14th most powerful woman in business this year, according to Fortune magazine’s latest rankings. Ramos was 16th on the American leading business magazine’s list last year. This year is the fourth time she has appeared on the annual list.
African countries should make use of intellectual provisions to protect their innovations when it comes to African traditional medicines, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Monday. ”Africa should make use of intellectual-property provisions to protect its innovation with regard to indigenous knowledge and African traditional medicine,” she said Johannesburg.