Racist anarchists in Potchefstroom are removing new street-name signs to dump them in the Vaal River, the city council said on Monday. Spokesperson Kaizer Mohau said a street sign for Nelson Mandela Rylaan (Avenue) had also been defaced to read ”Dela Rylaan” — an apparent reference to Boer War General Koos de la Rey.
The Springbok rugby team to tour Australasia for the away leg in this year’s Tri-Nations series suffered a blow on Monday when utility forward AJ Venter announced his retirement from international rugby. His retirement also means he will also miss out on a possible World Cup place with the Springboks.
Two apartheid-era police bosses will know on Tuesday when they will stand trial for the alleged poisoning of Reverend Frank Chikane. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it was ready to prosecute former minister of police Adriaan Vlok and ex-police chief Johann van der Merwe.
The petrol price may drop by 10 cents a litre in July, economists said on Monday. Absa Capital economic strategist Chris Hart said the drop could be attributed to a more stable rand and an easier international oil price. ”The petrol price is likely to drop by roughly ten cents a litre,” he said. However, the possible drop in oil prices should not be celebrated too soon.
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and the Young Communist League (YCL) have expressed their support for the television-rights deal between the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and SuperSport. ”It is a reasonable deal that will benefit soccer, the players and clubs for the improvement of the game,” ANCYL president Fikile Mbalula said on Monday.
A national antenatal survey for 2006 has shown a decrease in the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women visiting public health facilities, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Monday.
A national warning was issued by the South African Weather Service on Monday morning with regards to a strong cold front affecting the country this week. Already prevalent in the south-western Cape, the cold, windy conditions are expected to sweep across the central interior of the country on Tuesday.
A committee of the Western Cape legislature has cleared former provincial transport and public works minister Mcebisi Skwatsha of claims that he failed to disclose an interest in two companies. Skwatsha is the African National Congress’s Western Cape provincial secretary.
The African National Congress (ANC) is set to confront growing disquiet about the gap between rich and poor at a policy conference this week amid the biggest bout of worker unrest since apartheid. With the ANC due to elect a new leader at the end of the year, the four-day meeting will be partly seen as a test of strength between left-wing and pro-business elements.
All permits are in order at the Heilbron game farm in the Free State where a Bengal tiger attacked a child and her father over the weekend, environmental officials said on Monday. ”There is no problem with the camps, fences or permits,” said Werner Boing, spokesperson on biodiversity compliance at the local department of environmental affairs.
Lawyers for Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool on Monday called for the recusal of most of the members of a special committee probing whether he misled his legislature. The committee, which was to have begun formal hearings on Monday morning, was postponed indefinitely following the application.
Twelve years ago, Hulamin was valued at R600-million within the Tongaat-Hulett Group, as it was known then. On Monday, the specialised aluminium manufacturer listed as a standalone entity on the JSE with a market capitalisation of more than R8-billion. The listing also signals a new beginning for Tongaat Hulett
Amazulu beat Pretoria University 3-1 in the second-leg Mvela Platinum play-off final at a packed Princess Magogo Stadium on Sunday and celebrated their return to the Premiership with their fanatical supporters. Veteran Amazulu striker Dennis Lota scored in the 34th minute and John ”Shoes” Moshoeu doubled Usuthu’s lead in the 53rd minute.
Jannie du Plessis says he is delighted to be included in the Springbok touring party of 28 players for the away fixtures of the Tri-Nations series against the All Blacks and Wallabies. Jake White has opted to rest his big guns for the tour to Australasia, saying it would be ”a ludicrous risk” to take all his players on tour in this World Cup year.
Expect a considerable number of South Africans to follow the route to court 18 to witness Rik de Voest play Russia’s grumpy and growling but almost grotesquely talented 26th-seeded Marat Safin in the first round of the Wimbledon tennis extravaganza, which gets under way on Monday afternoon.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has decided to downgrade the city’s Soccer World Cup stadium because the Eastern Cape government has not paid the R212-million it previously committed to the project, a media report said on Monday. However, the provincial government said it remains committed to the development.
An initiation-school surgeon was arrested following the death of two initiates in Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, the health department said on Sunday. Meanwhile, in Gauteng, a 15-year-old boy was found dead by fellow circumcision initiates at a mountain between De Deur and Orange Farm on Sunday morning.
It is pure coincidence that a postponed labour meeting to decide on the public-service dispute will coincide with the start of the African National Congress policy conference on Wednesday, said the Congress of South African Trade Unions on Sunday. Meanwhile, a large teachers’ union has announced its withdrawal from the strike.
Gauteng residents should brace themselves for a strong cold front and isolated showers accompanied by wind in the coming week, the National Forecast Centre said on Sunday. Forecasters said the chilly weather should be expected in the middle of the week, with chances of light isolated showers on Tuesday.
Public-service unions on Sunday said there would be no wage deal with until at least Wednesday. Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willie Madisha said unions needed more time to consult members on government’s final proposal.
In spite of gaining a valuable bonus point it is almost certaint that the Springbok Tri-Nations campaign is all but over as they face a long haul to Australia to face the Wallabies in Sydney on July 7. Physically, it was the All Black powerhouses off the bench, fullback Leon MacDonald and Luke McAllister, that turned the tables on the Springboks.
South Africans may hope the ruling African National Congress (ANC) finds new ways to fight social ills at its conference this week, but any policy debate will likely be overshadowed by a succession battle that has plunged the party into turmoil. Analysts say they expect closed-door meetings to focus on forming alliances ahead of a congress in December that will choose a new leader for the party.
Captain Richie McCaw and wing Joe Rokocoko scored late tries to snatch a 26-21 win for New Zealand over South Africa in their Tri-Nations match in Durban on Saturday. South Africa ruled the opening quarter by kicking much of their possession downfield and using their superior lineout to continue the attack..
Judgement has been reserved on a Treatment Action Campaign application for the reinstatement of 41 dismissed Khayelitsha health workers. Cape High Court’s Justice Siraj Desai said at the end of an afternoon of legal argument on Friday that he would give a ruling ”with or without reasons” at 10am on Tuesday.
The Blue Bulls scored six tries to the Falcons’s three as the home side won their first Absa Currie Cup game of the seaon at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night by 43 points to 26. The bonus-point win for the home side didn’t produce anything for the courageous visitors who stood tall against a team that included nine players from Super 14 final.
Four people died and 41 others were seriously injured when two trucks and a bakkie collided in Blinkpan outside Witbank, Mpumalanga police said on Saturday. Spokesperson Captain Leonard Hlathi said three of the people died on impact, while a fourth died on arrival at the Cosmos Hospital in Witbank on Friday morning.
Champion amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius can compete against the world’s best able-bodied athletes while researchers try to determine whether his prosthetics give him an unfair advantage, a spokesperson for the international track authority said.
The hostage taker at a hair salon in Vanderbijlpark was shot dead by police early on Saturday morning. A single shot was fired, bringing to an end an eight-hour hostage drama around 2.10am. ”It’s over, he is no longer,” said police spokesperson Captain William Mcera. Both hostages were safe, he said.
Three women have been released after being held hostage at a hair salon in Vanderbijlpark, Vaal Rand police said on Friday night. Captain William Mcera said three women had been released from Merle’s Hair Boutique on Attie Fourie road at about 5.45pm, but ”according to the negotiators there are still a few of them inside”.
A scrap-metal dealer and two workers at the City of Cape Town have been arrested for theft of copper cables, the municipality said on Friday. Pieter van Dalen, chairperson of the City’s cable-theft task team, said the workers were arrested this week after confessing to stealing the cables and selling them to a scrap-metal dealer.
The Proudly South African campaign has dismissed media reports it has been ”disowned” by the government and the Department of Trade and Industry. The seed funding provided for the campaign’s founding period was suspended in 2004, it said in a statement on Friday.
At least four women were being held hostage in a hair salon in Vanderbijlpark late on Friday afternoon. Initial reports were that the four were being held by a middle-aged man. However, it was later claimed that there were 11 women in Merle’s Hair Boutique, in Attie Fourie Street, and that they were hostage to a six or seven-man gang.