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/ 24 October 2006
Provincial minister for local government and housing in the Western Cape, Richard Dyantyi, has turned down the city’s invitation to address the full Cape Town city council on Wednesday, according to a statement from Mayor Helen Zille’s office on Tuesday. Zille said he would have had the opportunity to provide substantive reasons for his proposed change of the system of governance in Cape Town.
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/ 24 October 2006
A weaker rand in recent months and price increases in raw material has put pressure on the South African tyre industry, Continental Tyre’s senior official said on Tuesday. Natural rubber increased by 86% from June 2005 to the present and this has translated into a 15-16% increase in the price of producing a tyre.
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/ 24 October 2006
There is no doubt that the public sees corruption as one of the most serious problems facing our country, and one that directly affects service delivery. The focus is often on high-value actions by officials. Often little attention is paid to the many thousands of smaller acts of corruption, writes special investigating unit head Willie Hofmeyr.
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/ 23 October 2006
Reports indicating that shipping lines are considering a $50 congestion surcharge at the Durban Port could cost the economy about R500-million a year, says the official opposition’s public enterprises spokesperson Martin Stephens. Stephens said on Monday: "The additional costs for consumers could be much more."
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/ 23 October 2006
South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni cautioned on Monday that the country’s widening current-account deficit posed a risk to the exchange rate of the rand. Addressing the First Macroeconomic Policy Challenges for South Africa conference in Pretoria, Mboweni said that in recent months the risks to the inflation outlook had increased.
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/ 23 October 2006
An airline baggage courier pleaded guilty in Australia on Friday to stealing samples of women’s hair from their lost bags and keeping them on file. Rodney Petersen (30) had faced 110 charges of theft and stalking after taking strands of both head and pubic hair from the luggage of female passengers.
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/ 23 October 2006
Australians should stop singing and daydreaming in the shower because they are wasting money on hot water, one of the country’s largest power suppliers said on Sunday. Energy Australia has conducted research showing that the average Australian showers for seven minutes, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
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/ 23 October 2006
A police chief in southern England was caught driving his car while using his cellphone, an offence here, by a motorist who followed him, the <i>Times</i> reported on Monday. The motorist followed the chief to his station after the officer cut in front of him while talking on his cellphone.
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/ 23 October 2006
Listed South African fast-food franchise group Famous Brands has reported a 22% increase in headline earnings per share to 51,8 cents for the six months ended August 31 from 42,7 cents for the comparable period last year. Gross revenue for the period increased by 33% to R406,3-million from R304,9-million in the prior period.
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/ 23 October 2006
"Africans have woken up to the reality that they can, and should, own their own stories and that there is nothing stopping them from doing that." Stephanie Wolters interviewed Uduak Amimo, the new senior editorial adviser to the BBC World Service, about the media on the continent today.
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/ 22 October 2006
Some years ago — 1969 I think — in a revue called <i>Finger Trouble</i>, I had a sketch entitled <i>The Ten Commandments of the SABC</i>. I introduced the sketch by explaining how Dr Piet Meyer, then chairman of the SABC board, would go into the wilderness once a year. What amused me was that, in updating the sketch, how little I had to change its 1969 version.
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/ 21 October 2006
Capetonians eagerly awaiting the outcome of the bitter dispute between Democratic Alliance mayor Helen Zille and the African National Congress over the city’s system of governance will have to wait a little longer. However, the battle for control of the city claimed its first casualty this week.
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/ 20 October 2006
A report by the Department of Labour on its findings of a probe into safety at petrochemicals group Sasol has been handed to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana revealed on Friday. The probe was prompted by blasts at Sasol plants in the past two years.
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/ 20 October 2006
South Africa’s economy remains on track for a good year, but while rising incomes will continue to provide support for consumer spending, higher interest rates and growing structural imbalances will muzzle the country’s overall expansion, according to Moody’s <i>Economy.com</i> economist Dr Ruth Stroppiana.
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/ 20 October 2006
"Today, the overriding importance of media and information has made the pen — or at least the computer — perhaps the most powerful weapon of all," writes Zwelinzima Vavi. South African journalists defend the current capitalist economic system as logical and good, and strive to ensure its survival.
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/ 19 October 2006
Unknown gunmen killed 38 civilians in at least five attacks in southern Sudan, a regional government official said on Thursday. "A group of armed men yesterday [Wednesday] killed 38 people, among whom were women and children," southern Sudan’s interior minister, Paul Mayom Akec, told reporters in Juba.
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/ 19 October 2006
Defence parastatal Denel on Thursday reported a net loss of R1,377-billion for the year ended March 2006, compared with a net loss of R1,561-billion in 2005. Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin commented: "I’m pleased to acknowledge a glimmer of an upturn in Denel which, frankly, is ahead of my expectations."
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/ 19 October 2006
The MTN Group on Thursday issued a tender for its marketing advertising account as the group strives to entrench its position as the leader in telecommunications in developing markets in Africa and the Middle East. Ten major advertising agencies have been invited to pitch for the MTN account.
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/ 19 October 2006
We at the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> are developing an unhealthy relationship with Court 6 E of the Johannesburg High Court. The court orderlies know us well. Too well. Last Saturday, we were interdicted for the third time in a year and a half.It is an irony that the interdict, brought by the South African Broadcasting Corporation to make us take down a copy of the commission report into blacklisting off our website, came just four days before press freedom day.
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/ 19 October 2006
The Department of Minerals and Energy could implement a retail petrol-price cut of about nine cents per litre (c/l) on November 1 2006, provided the daily over-recovery remains at or above the October 18 level. This would bring the total cut to 95c/l since the retail petrol price peaked at R7,04 a litre in August in Gauteng.
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/ 18 October 2006
Israeli police said on Wednesday they were on the lookout for 40 vibrators and a $200 dildo after thieves plundered the automobile of a noted sexologist in Tel Aviv. "Thieves broke into her car and apparently stole from her a caseload of vibrators," police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said. "It’s difficult to say the exact value of the items stolen."
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/ 18 October 2006
Ellerine Holdings advised on Wednesday that it expects growth in headline earnings of between 70% and 75% and headline earnings per share of between 25% and 30% for the year ending in August. Ellerine’s results for the 12 months include 12 months of Relyant Retail, which was acquired on May 7 through the issue of 42,9-million new ordinary shares.
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/ 18 October 2006
The dirty dancing of teenagers at school functions and prom nights is getting educators across the United States hot and bothered, the <i>Los Angeles Times</i> reported on Tuesday. The teenage dance craze of "freaking" — where couples rub and grind against each other — has been branded as simulated sex by school officials and has led to concern across the nation, the paper reported.
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/ 17 October 2006
First National Bank (FNB) is conducting a massive R60-million upgrade of its ATMs, which will see customers perform the fastest ATM transactions in the country, and use of interactive graphics, which makes the ATMs even easier to use, minimising the chance of errors. All FNB ATMs will switch from fixed-line infrastructure to the much faster GPRS, 3G and HSDPA platforms provided by cellular group MTN.
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/ 17 October 2006
South African cellular operator Vodacom on Tuesday announced the launch of a credit card to its customers, expanding its offerings beyond that of pure telecommunication services. The Vodacom Credit Card — to be launched in November — will offer Vodacom Contract and Top Up customers access to credit with a wide range of lifestyle rewards and benefits.
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/ 16 October 2006
South Korea is planning to send kimchi into space in a giant leap for its much-loved national dish, Yonhap news agency reported Monday. A state-run food research body is pushing ahead with a plan to develop traditional foods like kimchi, the chili paste "gochujang" and ginseng so that they can be eaten in space, Yonhap said.
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/ 16 October 2006
These days Paul Mashatile is more famous for swiping his credit card than attracting investment. But Mashatile, now the Gauteng minister for finance and economic affairs, will weather the storm. He is a survivor. As an activist in Alexandra in the 1980s, he was president of the Alexandra Youth Congress, and office-holder for the United Democratic Front.
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/ 16 October 2006
Government’s new green energy strategy is steaming ahead, combining a strong focus on renewables and energy efficiency. Three organisations have been established this year under the Central Energy Fund, a state-owned body, with a mandate to research and commercialise alternative energy technologies.
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/ 16 October 2006
The United Nations human rights watchdog has expressed serious concern about abuses in the Western Sahara, which is illegally occupied by Morocco, and recommends self-determination for the Saharawi people as the most effective remedy.
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/ 13 October 2006
There will not be fuel shortages this coming festive season, according to the South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia). "The industry assured the minister [of minerals and energy] that the plans put in place would ensure that there would be no supply shortages this festive season," read a joint statement from Sapia and the Department of Minerals and Energy on Friday.
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/ 13 October 2006
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development e-Africa Commission — which falls under the African Union — will be hosting a ceremony in Cape Town on Monday for the signing of a protocol on the broadband ICT infrastructure network project — including the Eastern Africa sub-marine system, a statement from the Department of Communications said on Friday.
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/ 13 October 2006
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Friday condemned the 50 basis points hike in the repo rate, saying that the hike would snuff out the glimmer of hope of increasing growth in the manufacturing industry. "This policy will destroy still more jobs and sabotage prospects of halving unemployment and poverty by 2014," Cosatu said in statement.