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/ 14 September 2007
Poppy Buthelezi, who was shot by police during the 1976 Soweto uprising died this week. She was ubuntu personified, a family friend said on Friday. Buthelezi (48), who had been confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life after she was shot in the back in the 1976 uprising, died on Thursday, said Cecil Moeng, Buthelezi’s spokesperson.
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/ 14 September 2007
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and Cape Town mayor Helen Zille has accused the police and Western Cape provincial minister of community safety Leonard Ramatlakane of trying to justify their actions by disseminating misinformation and conducting smear campaigns. ”Those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” she said in her weekly online newsletter on Friday.
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/ 14 September 2007
South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Friday that it was concerned that the proposed Employee Share Ownership Scheme (ESOP) proposed under Sasol’s R17,9-billion black economic empowerment (BEE) deal "falls short of the level of empowerment envisioned in the Codes [of Good Practice]".
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/ 14 September 2007
The former deputy to South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the minister deliberately undercut her efforts to tackle chronic illness in the HIV/Aids-ravaged country. Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge said Msimang sabotaged her work in the department.
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/ 14 September 2007
South African inflation is expected to return to its target range in the second half of 2008, the country’s central bank said on Friday. The South African Reserve Bank’s forecast was more hawkish than previous predictions. After its August monetary policy meeting, it expected inflation to come back to the target band in the second quarter of 2008.
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/ 14 September 2007
African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma may not intervene in the state’s plan to extend an investigation into him to the United Kingdom. Judge Willie van der Merwe ruled against an application brought by Zuma to intervene in the state’s request to obtain information from banks and lawyers.
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/ 13 September 2007
Rain washed out the Twenty20 World Championship match between India and Scotland on Thursday without a ball being bowled. The teams were awarded one point each. India are scheduled to play Pakistan in Group D at the same venue on Friday.
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/ 13 September 2007
A fifth badly decomposed body of a woman has been found in a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) sugar-cane field, police said on Thursday. ”We suspect the woman was about 18 to 35 years of age,” said police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Hechter. The body was found on Thursday afternoon.
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/ 13 September 2007
Former intelligence director general Billy Masetlha, charged with withholding information from Inspector General of Intelligence Zolile Ngcakani, went out of his way to provide such information, the Hatfield Community Court heard on Thursday during testimony by Masetlha.
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/ 13 September 2007
The eight 2010 Soccer World Cup host cities will hold celebrations to mark the beginning of the 1Â 000-day countdown to the event, the City of Tshwane said on Thursday. President Thabo Mbeki is expected to make an address at celebrations taking place at the Union Buildings on Friday — which marks exactly 1Â 000 days until the soccer spectacle kicks off.
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/ 13 September 2007
Since the beginning of the year not a single illegal farm eviction has been reported to farming union AgriSA, it said in a statement on Thursday. The union was responding to remarks by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Dirk du Toit that farmers who illegally evicted tenant workers would have their land expropriated.
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/ 13 September 2007
Kevin Pietersen lashed 79 off 37 balls as England beat giant-killers Zimbabwe in a Twenty20 World Championship match at Newlands on Thursday. England won by 50 runs as they sent Zimbabwe crashing back to earth after their shock five-wicket win over tournament favourites Australia at the same ground on Wednesday.
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/ 13 September 2007
Transnet Pipelines has been given the go-ahead to construct a petroleum pipeline from Durban to Gauteng, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) said on Thursday. Expected to cost R11-billion to build, it will carry petrol and diesel and is expected to come into use in the third quarter of 2010, said spokesperson Wanda Langenhoven.
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/ 13 September 2007
The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape has accused the Independent Democrats (ID) of attempting to lure ANC councillors to cross the floor with job offers. ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha told a media briefing on Thursday the ANC was in possession of a letter in this regard, signed by ID provincial chairperson Sakkie Jenner.
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/ 13 September 2007
Despite loud and bitter protests from the opposition, the National Assembly on Thursday approved the slate of candidates for the board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), which was proposed by the communications portfolio committee.
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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.