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/ 27 September 2007
Festival-goers at the Aardklop National Arts Festival, under way in Potchefstroom, were forced to abandon the afternoon shows half way through on Thursday when the electricity went out in most of the town. It was not immediately clear what caused the power failure but several shows were interrupted and later scrapped as performers and audiences alike waited for the power to return.
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/ 27 September 2007
Work resumed on Cape Town’s 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium in Green Point on Thursday after a week-long strike. ”Work resumed this morning. It’s been a normal working day and we are very pleased,” deputy project director Ray Gamble said. He declined to comment further on the stoppage that has cost contractors Murray & Roberts and WBHO five days’ work.
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/ 27 September 2007
Unsustainable human settlements were part of apartheid planning, the KwaZulu-Natal local government department said on Thursday at the start of a two-day housing summit in Durban. ”We can no longer romanticise about human settlements …,” said provincial minister of local government Mike Mabuyakhulu.
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/ 27 September 2007
As you enter the gates of Soweto’s biggest shopping mall, you are welcomed by a majestic statue of an elephant. The elephant is seen to represent Richard Maponya as being part of the "big five" of business and retail in Soweto, but the actual symbolism of the stature has nothing to do with the man’s businesses.
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/ 27 September 2007
Developing countries are willing to do more when it comes to tackling climate change, but the ”trigger” has to come from the North, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday. In a speech prepared for delivery in Washington, he said participants in such efforts had to include the United States.
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/ 27 September 2007
Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has criticised the South African soccer authorities for not showing more concern in his quest to shape up his team for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. ”We are hosting the World Cup in two-and-a-half years and people don’t seem to understand the urgency in preparing the team for it,” said Parreira.
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/ 27 September 2007
The giant stone found last month in the North West has still not been verified as the ”world’s largest diamond”. President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses Ernest Blom said on Thursday that he still had not seen the stone. He remains the only person permitted to examine the stone.
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/ 27 September 2007
Denel has sold 237ha of land adjacent to OR Tambo International Airport for R606-million to Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), the arms manufacturer said on Thursday. The sale formed part of a broader plan to re-focus Denel on its core business and to optimise its assets.
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/ 27 September 2007
Western Cape police were involved in a plot to plant agents provocateurs within an organisation waging peaceful protest marches against drugs, Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said on Thursday. Zille, who recently participated in People against Drugs, Liquor and Crime (Padlac) marches, said she had information confirming that police were intending to infiltrate Padlac.
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/ 27 September 2007
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday said that South Africa being ranked the third least safe place out of 48 countries on the African continent indicates that the country is critically unsafe. ”South Africa’s safety and security performance is utterly abysmal,” said the party’s spokesperson on safety and security, Dianne Kohler-Barnard.
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/ 27 September 2007
The Department of Science and Technology is to help establish a national Nuclear Manufacturing Centre, Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena announced in Durban on Thursday. He was speaking at the National Society of Black Engineers conference in Durban’s Elangeni Hotel.
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/ 27 September 2007
South Africa is moving backwards in key development areas such as economics and safety and security, says the Democratic Alliance (DA). ”When considering year-by-year positions on various indices, South Africa is actually backsliding rather than improving,” says a DA survey, launched by DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha on Thursday.
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/ 27 September 2007
The construction cranes towering and the cacophony of concrete churning and trucks rumbling are the sights and sounds of a business boom in South Africa’s most famous township. Black South Africans are reaping the benefits of a growing economy, and at the heart of it all is Soweto, the huge township south-west of Johannesburg.
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/ 27 September 2007
Good buying interest was seen across the board on the JSE on Thursday and by midday the all-share index was up 224 points, with one trader speculating that it could close above the 30 000 level. A trader said the JSE was approaching its all-time high of 30 046,3, reached on Tuesday.
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/ 27 September 2007
The state would try to admit cellphone audio and video recordings in the drunk-driving trial of Pretoria High Court judge Nkola Motata being heard in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The recordings were made by Richard James Baird, into whose wall Motata allegedly crashed in Hurlingham, Johannesburg, on January 6.
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/ 27 September 2007
Suspect on the bigger stage in Africa, but continuing to reign supreme in South Africa, current Premier Soccer League (PSL) and Supa8 champions Mamelodi Sundowns sauntered to a 3-0 victory over Golden Arrows in the opening game of the lucrative Telkom Knockout Cup at Loftus on Wednesday night.
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/ 27 September 2007
African National Congress funder Sandi Majali — known for his role in the Oilgate scandal — is to sue the Sunday Times for defamation following its story implicating him in the disappearance of money meant for an Eastern Cape school feeding scheme.
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/ 27 September 2007
President Thabo Mbeki has responded for the first time on his decision to suspend the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday. Mbeki was speaking to the broadcaster on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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/ 27 September 2007
South Africa’s Merafe Resources said on Thursday it had agreed to take a stake in a plant producing chrome pellets with partner Xstrata Plc and issued 40-million shares to help pay for it. Merafe, which already has a chrome joint venture with Xstrata, said it would have a 20,5% stake in the Bokamoso plant.
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/ 26 September 2007
The businessman who complained about an alleged cash donation to the South African Communist Party that went missing appeared in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Charles Modise’s court appearance relates to charges of alleged fraud, forgery and defeating the ends of justice in relation to tenders awarded to him.
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/ 26 September 2007
An urgent court interdict ordering workers on the Gautrain rapid rail link back to work was granted on Wednesday, Bombela Civils Joint Venture said. Bombela has issued a number of ultimatums to workers to cease the unprotected strike action and return to work or face dismissal.
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/ 26 September 2007
The recently launched pension fund and funeral cover for domestic workers should not be confused with the benefits offered by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Department of Labour said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Kgomotso Sebetso stressed that the pension fund is a private initiative.
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/ 26 September 2007
Work on Cape Town’s 2010 soccer stadium in Green Point looks set to start again on Thursday, says project director Andrew Fanton. All work stopped at the site last Wednesday when about 1 200 workers employed by contractors Murray & Roberts and WBHO went on strike over a travel allowance.
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/ 26 September 2007
Alec Erwin, the Minister of Public Enterprises, on Wednesday defended the performance bonus of the chief executive of the state-owned arms manufacturer Denel. Manie van Dyk of the Democratic Alliance asked in a parliamentary question on what basis Shaun Liebenberg received a R3,25-million bonus as part of his total package.
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/ 26 September 2007
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has welcomed a statement made by Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin that Richards Bay could soon replace Durban as the country’s busiest multipurpose harbour, and potentially become one of the largest ports in the world if a planned expansion strategy is adopted.
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/ 26 September 2007
The controversial documentary <i>Unauthorised: Thabo Mbeki</i> will be screened on SABC3 next Wednesday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) said. "We’ve got the tape, the final copy, and it will be shown on October 3 at 9.30pm," said spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
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/ 26 September 2007
South African petrochemical giant Sasol has opened an office in Shanghai to market its range of chemical solvents in China. Sasol Chemicals Shanghai will initially market products from the global Sasol Solvents business, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
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/ 26 September 2007
South African Under-19 stars Francois Hougaard and Stephan Dippenaar have signed a three-year contract with the Blue Bulls. Hougaard is a strong scrumhalf who attended Paul Roos Gymnasium and, according to his agent, ”a very aggressive number nine with an excellent pass and outstanding defensive capabilities”.
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/ 26 September 2007
The rising stars of international table tennis will converge on Cape Town’s Good Hope Centre from October 19 to 29 when the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cadet Challenge and the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals are hosted in South Africa for the first time.
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/ 26 September 2007
South African banking giant Absa is the title sponsor of the Premier Soccer League (PSL). This was announced on Wednesday at South African Breweries’ World of Beer offices in Newtown, Johannesburg. The five-year deal, worth R500-million, was concluded on Tuesday night.
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/ 26 September 2007
The Cape High Court has given residents of Cape Town’s Joe Slovo informal settlement, who are opposing eviction, a week to appoint lawyers to represent them. Over a thousand residents packed the street outside the court on Wednesday morning under the watchful eye of police officers.
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/ 26 September 2007
South Africa gained almost 200 000 jobs between March 2006 and 2007, Statistics South Africa reported on Wednesday. Its Labour Force Survey said the number of people employed rose from 12 451 000 to 12 648 000.