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/ 13 September 2007
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has dropped an appeal to rugby fans to boycott shirts supporting the Springboks after the manufacturers agreed that most will in future be made locally, not imported. The move comes during the Rugby World Cup tournament in France. The Springboks, one of the favourites to lift the trophy, take on Cup holders England on Friday.
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/ 13 September 2007
South Africa is using its seat on the United Nations Security Council to push for troops from a hybrid UN/African Union peacekeeping force to be on the ground in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur by next month. South Africa will use its position at the UN to ”insist” on some troops being deployed by October.
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/ 13 September 2007
Volkswagen South Africa stopped vehicle production at its Uitenhage plant on Thursday due to the motor-manufacturing strike. Brian Smith, Volkswagen South Africa’s human resources director, said most of its 4Â 000 production employees had been sent home.
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/ 13 September 2007
President Thabo Mbeki will lead the South African delegation to the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, which starts in New York next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday Speaking in Pretoria, ambassador George Nene, head of the multilateral section in the department, said several issues would be discussed.
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/ 13 September 2007
The world’s biggest diamond mining group, De Beers, has agreed to sell its loss-making Kimberley underground mines to Petra Diamonds and its black partners, De Beers said on Thursday. De Beers said in a statement details of the transaction, including the financial settlement and output figures for the underground mine, would be given at a media briefing on Friday.
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/ 13 September 2007
Expect a touch of sadness at Saturday night’s SAA Supa8 final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates at King’s Park Stadium in Durban — likely to be a highly charged, electric occasion. The close association both clubs had with late Sundowns player Gift Leremi will account for the lingering pall.
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/ 13 September 2007
The Public Protector is to conduct a preliminary investigation into allegations of improper conduct against Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba. Gigaba had been informed of this by letter, the Public Protector’s office said on Thursday. It said this ”own initiative investigation” would seek to determine the merits of the allegations against Gigaba.
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/ 13 September 2007
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) gets going this Sunday after the major leagues of the world came to a halt for international friendlies and continental qualifying games. On Sunday, five games will be played around the country. The pick of the bunch is SuperSport United hosting Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
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/ 13 September 2007
Illegal evictions and rights violations continue to happen in the farming sector, Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana said on Thursday. She said of the eight million people evicted between 1985 and 2005, 1% of the evictions was legal.
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/ 13 September 2007
The provincial auditor general never gave any assurance that over-expenditure on the security upgrading of Western Cape provincial minister of community safety Leonard Ramatlakane’s residence did not constitute fraud and corruption, a committee heard on Thursday.
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/ 13 September 2007
Shares in information and communications technology group Datatec dipped by almost 8% on Thursday after the company issued a pre-close statement for the six months ended August. The group said its trading during the first half of the financial year had been in line with the board’s expectations, with one exception
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/ 13 September 2007
Three men convicted of raping three Durban women at a beach house on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast were on Thursday sentenced to five life sentences each in the Scottburgh High Court. Sithembiso Shelembe (23), Mthokozisi Mbambo (30) and Wonder Mchunu (27) will only be considered for parole after 25 years.
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/ 13 September 2007
The JSE drifted sideways during the course of the morning on Thursday in directionless trade as it waited to see how Wall Street opened. At 11.59am, the all-share index added 0,18%, with resources up 0,59%, the platinum mining index flat (+0,03%) and the gold-mining index little changed (-0,04%).
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/ 13 September 2007
Growth in employment in South Africa accelerated noticeably over the past eight quarters after a prolonged period of marginal employment gains, the South African Reserve Bank said. The central bank said that improved employment prospects since early 2005 have been evident in both the public and private sector.
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/ 13 September 2007
The Cape High Court-appointed curators of the Fidentia Group have found money stolen from investors who entrusted their savings to companies in the organisation. Co-curator George Papadakis said: ”We know where every cent is and who has got it. Some have offered to repay; others are choosing to fight us.”
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/ 13 September 2007
South Africa’s current-account deficit decreased to 6,5% of the gross domestic product in the second quarter of the year, down from 6,9% in the first, the South African Reserve Bank said on Thursday. This was mainly due to the raised demand for South African exports in the second quarter.
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/ 13 September 2007
South Africa’s solid economic fundamentals should help it weather current turmoil in global financial markets, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. South Africa’s rand currency and stock markets have swung wildly over the past few weeks amid turmoil in financial markets in the face of a global credit crunch.
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/ 13 September 2007
South Africa on Wednesday marked the 30th anniversary of Steve Biko’s murder as the country’s current leaders face accusations they have neglected the poor masses. His legacy is a rallying cry for some of the discontented, who believe the ANC leadership have placed the interests of the business community above those of the country as a whole.
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/ 13 September 2007
A team of 30 rescue-workers stretchered an injured base-jumper off Table Mountain at 10pm on Wednesday after an operation lasting eight-and-a-half hours, said Wilderness Search and Rescue. The 19-year-old hurt his back and ribs and sustained other minor injuries when he plummeted 30m down Platteklip Gorge at 2pm.
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/ 13 September 2007
Former director general of the National Intelligence Agency Billy Masetlha has implicated Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils in a ”counter-revolution” meant to destroy the African National Congress (ANC). ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe had said that certain things happening in the party bordered on ”counter-revolution”, Masetlha testified on Wednesday.
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/ 13 September 2007
The prevalence of corruption and other forms of crime in South Africa reflected a society that had embraced a culture of individualism, President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday. Delivering the eighth annual Steve Biko memorial lecture at the University of Cape Town, Mbeki said social ills such as corruption represented society’s rejection of positive moral values.
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/ 13 September 2007
Eyewitnesses have claimed that the engine of a two-seater Tiger Moth failed before it crashed into a truck, bus and car on a road in Ennerdale on Wednesday. A passenger in the plane died in the crash, which also killed the driver of the Iveco bus and injured 23 of the 40 security guards on board.
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/ 12 September 2007
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Minnows Zimbabwe upset tournament favourites Australia in the first shock of the Twenty20 World Championship at Newlands on Wednesday. Opening batsman Brendan Taylor guided Zimbabwe to a five-wicket win after Australia limped to 138-9 in their 20 overs after choosing to bat on a slow pitch.
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/ 12 September 2007
South Africa held Uruguay 0-0 on Wednesday in an international friendly to regain some pride after a weekend mauling by Zambia. But the 2010 soccer World Cup hosts needed help from Zimbabwe referee Tendai Bwanya to contain the visitors, who finished fourth at the Copa America in Venezuela two months ago.
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/ 12 September 2007
A passenger in a two-seater Tiger Moth died and its pilot was critically injured when the plane crashed into a truck, a taxi and a car on the old Vereeniging Road, south of Johannesburg, on Wednesday, said emergency workers. The taxi driver also died and 22 people were injured in the crash in Ennerdale at 4.45pm, said a Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson.
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/ 12 September 2007
Netcare on Wednesday urged healthcare professionals and the public to support and implement blood-conservation projects. Its appeal comes after an urgent call by the South African National Blood Service for people to donate blood. Netcare had recognised a trend towards global blood shortages several years ago, and therefore established a blood-conservation programme.
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/ 12 September 2007
The state on Wednesday urged Judge Leona Theron to hand down the maximum sentence possible for three men found guilty of rape as none of the three men could be expected to be rehabilitated. The men raped three Durban women at a beach house in Pennington, south of Scottburgh, on December 29 last year.
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/ 12 September 2007
Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu vehemently denied on Wednesday that she was contemplating forced removals from Cape Town’s troubled Joe Slovo settlement. But in the same breath she said she had instructed her department ”to investigate legal avenues to compel residents of informal settlements to make way for housing developments”.
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/ 12 September 2007
Farmers who evict tenant workers illegally will have their land expropriated, Deputy Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Dirk du Toit warned on Wednesday. ”Those people who don’t want to hear, we are not only going to take them to court, we are going to also take their land away from them,” he told MPs in the National Assembly.
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/ 12 September 2007
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Shahid Afridi smashed 22 off seven balls and then grabbed 4-19 as Pakistan brushed aside Scotland by 51 runs in the Twenty20 World Championship in Durban on Wednesday. The pugnacious all-rounder ensured his team faced no hiccups after Craig Wright had taken three wickets to restrict Pakistan to 171-9 at the Kingsmead.
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/ 12 September 2007
Thanks to floor-crossing, the African National Congress (ANC) has at last secured a clear two-thirds majority in the Morkel family. The decisive moment came on Wednesday when the last of the Morkel brothers, Craig, joined the party. But the patriarch, former premier Gerald Morkel, has no intention of following in his sons’ footsteps.
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/ 12 September 2007
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has condemned the absence of ”working-class representatives” on the final list of names for the new South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board approved by the National Assembly’s communications committee.