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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
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.