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/ 13 September 2007
The citings and subsequent bans of both Schalk Burger and England captain Phil Vickery have raised a worrying trend at the Rugby World Cup in France.
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/ 13 September 2007
1time Holdings on Thursday reported a 91% surge in headline earnings per share to 6,7 cents for the six months ended June from 3,5 cents a year ago. In line with its strategy to reinvest in the group in order to sustain growth, no dividend has been declared. Attributable earnings grew by 27% to R12-million.
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/ 13 September 2007
Most of the world’s 1,2-billion Muslims celebrated the start of the holy month of Ramadan on Thursday as Indonesians prayed for the victims of a massive earthquake that rocked Sumatra island a day earlier. The start of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, is traditionally determined by the sighting of a new crescent moon.
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/ 12 September 2007
A 32-year-old Nigerian man appeared in court on Tuesday on a charge of instructing his monkey to bite a teenager, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported. Prosecutor lawyer Thaddeus Joseph told an Abuja magistrate’s court that Sunday Adeyemi on September 2 instructed his monkey to bite 11-year-old Samson Sule.
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/ 12 September 2007
The complex biology of the HI virus has posed constant challenges and even a partially effective vaccine is still some years away.
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/ 12 September 2007
South African business confidence fell to a three-and-a-half-year low in the third quarter as vehicle dealers and manufacturers became less optimistic about their prospects. The First National Bank/Bureau for Economic Research business confidence index fell by eight points to 72 compared with the previous quarter.
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/ 12 September 2007
The United States launches a new military command for Africa in Germany next month, with small teams of key staff, but no troops, based on the continent, a senior US defence official said on Wednesday. The Africa Command will initially work from Stuttgart, and have a year to prepare six locations in as yet unidentified African countries.
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/ 11 September 2007
Demand for skilled South Africans is soaring in the United Kingdom, which is experiencing a major skills shortage, a UK recruitment agency said on Tuesday. "Demand for South African professionals is soaring in the UK because London’s top financial-services industry experiences a massive skills shortage," said Nabila Sadiq of the Joslin Rowe Temporaries agency.
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/ 11 September 2007
The National Treasury has stepped in to ensure better protection for minors’ assets and avoid future Fidentia-type scandals. As early as the end of this year, it is proposed that death benefits be paid into a new vehicle called beneficiary funds, which will be regulated by the Pensions Fund Act.
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/ 11 September 2007
A television reporter claims to have discovered China’s answer to the Loch Ness monster, state press reported on Sunday. Local journalist Zhuo Yongsheng shot footage of six "seal-like" creatures in the north-eastern Tianchi Lake, which local legend has long said is home to Loch Ness-style monsters.
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/ 11 September 2007
A man awaiting trial on child-sex charges in the southern state of Arkansas in the United States tried to saw off his right leg in an apparent escape bid, police said on Monday. Days before he was due to appear in court on charges of rape and engaging children in sexually explicit conduct, Jerry Scholes sawed down to the bone of his right calf.
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/ 11 September 2007
Seasoned dispute-resolution expert advocate Neville Melville has announced the launch of <i>Onlineombud.com</i>. According to Melville, it will place the benefits of an ombudsman service within the reach of any business or organisation, irrespective of size.
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/ 11 September 2007
Absa has distanced itself from an email relating to automated teller machine (ATM) safety that claims that when ATM users type in their PIN in reverse when faced with a possible ATM robbery, the South African Police Service would assist such a user at a specific ATM.
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/ 10 September 2007
Despite daunting challenges posed by global warming, water, energy, unemployment and terrorism, the world faces a brighter future with fewer wars, higher life expectancy and improved literacy, according to the 2007 <i>State of the Future</i> report released on Monday. It noted that the number of African conflicts fell from a peak of 16 in 2002 to five in 2005.
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/ 10 September 2007
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/ 10 September 2007
Somalia’s opposition leaders predicted on Monday that a further surge in an Islamist-led insurgency in the capital, Mogadishu, could defeat Ethiopian troops supporting the government there within two months. "The liberation forces are gaining strength day after day," said Zakariya Mahamud Abdi, spokesperson of a congress in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara.
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/ 10 September 2007
In Lungisile Ntsebeza’s <i>Polokwane Briefing</i> of August 17 he says it is by now widely acknowledged that "land reform … is a dismal failure". The claim of "failure" is a common one, but it often obscures how — and in what setting — policies were made in the first place, argues Deborah James.
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/ 10 September 2007
Things just keep getting better for Patrice Motsepe. The mining magnate and soccer boss is South Africa’s first black dollar billionaire. But even as he catapults up the wealth stakes, it is unclear just how broad-based one of his key deals are, writes Jocelyn Newmarch.
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/ 9 September 2007
From a macroeconomic perspective, the massive disparities in South Africa, coupled with considerable expectations of economic empowerment, require sustainable growth of more than 6% in the next decade, writes Iraj Abedian, the chief executive of Pan-African Capital Holdings.
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/ 9 September 2007
Hardly a week seem to go by without some fresh controversy involving African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma.
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/ 7 September 2007
<b>ON CIRCUIT:</b> Emotional manipulation in <i>The Astronaut Farmer</i>, the flimsy <i>The Hitcher</i> and Catherine Zeta-Jones in <i>No Reservations</i>
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/ 7 September 2007
United States President George Bush, who reportedly once told aides he dislikes the "small talk in big rooms" of summitry, seemed not entirely sure on Friday which world leader gathering was going. Opening the keynote speech of his visit to Sydney, Bush thanked Australian Prime Minister John Howard "for being such a fine host for the Opec summit’.
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/ 7 September 2007
Gunmen killed two police officers in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where the embattled transitional government is facing a deadly insurgency, police said on Friday. The pair were killed overnight when insurgents ambushed a police patrol in northern Mogadishu’s Huriwa district, one of the most volatile zones in the lawless city, said police officer Abdulwahid Mohamed.
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/ 7 September 2007
"We sat in the heat with thousands of guests, eating rice and meat — many bulls had been slaughtered for this feast. Speeches were made and we waited, Fantas in hand, for the beer to be unloaded. We knew that on such occasions Kenya Breweries could be counted on to bring in truckloads of beer." Binyavanga Wainaina recalls a memorable wedding in Kenya.
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/ 7 September 2007
After a three-month stand-off between rebel General Laurent Nkunda and the Congolese army, the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has, over the past week, slipped into an open conflict between the two camps, with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC helping out on the government’s side.
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/ 6 September 2007
A Dutch park of natural sand dunes may introduce predators to control its overpopulation of deer, a local official said on Wednesday. The park’s management company, Waternet, "has made some study proposals. One of them is to introduce predators," said Marjolijn Goethem, a spokesperson for the local commune west of Amsterdam where the park is located.
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/ 6 September 2007
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the death of black consciousness leader Steve Bantu Biko. How do we honour him? There is hardly a debate that is not shot through with race. In urban centres these include the fractured debates about employment equity and empowerment. In rural areas, racial relations reflect the neo-feudal arrangements of the Seventies.
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/ 5 September 2007
For those fed up with the family photos where one person is perpetually frowning, a new Japanese camera is said to automatically weed out pictures when a person isn’t smiling. Electronics giant Sony said on Wednesday it will begin sales this month of the compact "Cyber-shot T" series that can detect a smile and immediately drop the shutter.
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/ 4 September 2007
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=rugbyworldcup07_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/317644/icon_rwc_03.gif" align=left border=0></a>England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson has been ruled out of the defending champion’s World Cup opener against the United States after twisting his ankle in training on Tuesday. "Jonny Wilkinson twisted his ankle in training this morning and is not available for selection," said coach Brian Ashton.
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/ 4 September 2007
Through his intellectual leadership in both the government and the ruling African National Congress, President Thabo Mbeki has defined and made central the commitment to women’s empowerment, writes Mbuyiselo Botha, general secretary of the South African Men’s Forum.
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/ 4 September 2007
Business in Nigeria is booming — and South African companies are determined to be a part of an economy they say has sky-high potential, despite the challenges posed by unpredictable regulations, unreliable power and a lack of infrastructure. Of these companies, MTN has enjoyed the most obvious success, but other players are upbeat.
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/ 3 September 2007
As the African National Congress’s December national conference approaches, it is critical to examine the factors that will guide the party in choosing its leaders, rather than focusing solely on who those leaders will be, writes Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge.