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/ 17 May 2008

Cosatu calls for food nationalisation

About a hundred members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and other organisations picketed the gates of Parliament in Cape Town on Saturday morning to protest against rising food prices and call for freedom in Zimbabwe. The event was to have been a march through the city.

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/ 16 May 2008

Ruling on Erasmus commission reserved

A full bench of judges on Friday reserved a ruling on the bid by the City of Cape Town and the Democratic Alliance (DA) to quash the Erasmus commission. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool to probe the DA-led city’s investigation of renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.

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/ 16 May 2008

May 16 to 22 2008

Think of the suffering After all the good things we achieved as South Africans with the help of countries such as Zimbabwe during our apartheid struggle, is this the way we thank our fellow brothers and sisters? By burning them and attacking them while we know that they are suffering in their countries? I am […]

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/ 15 May 2008

Erasmus commission battle goes to court

Having a judge head the politically loaded Erasmus commission undermined the principle of separation of powers, lawyers for the City of Cape Town and the Democratic Alliance argued on Thursday. The city and the party have asked the court to quash the commission to probe the legality of the city’s spying on renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.

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/ 12 May 2008

Food vs land reform

Experts say the often chaotic land reform programme has compromised food production: white farmers facing land claims are reluctant to plant crops, while emerging black farmers have insufficient training and support to produce the quantities of food needed by the domestic market.

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/ 6 May 2008

Najwa tried to cover her tracks, court told

It was a clumsy attempt by Najwa Petersen to cover up her cellphone tracks that gave police a vital lead in solving the murder of her husband, Taliep, a police officer told the Cape High Court on Tuesday. Superintendent Piet Viljoen was testifying in the trial of Najwa and the three men she allegedly hired to kill Taliep on the night of December 16 2006.

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/ 4 May 2008

We shall overcome, says Zuma

African National Congress president Jacob Zuma on Sunday urged communities to take more responsibility for education, health, and fighting crime. ”This is not the time to rest. This is the time to intensify the fight for a truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic South Africa,” he said in a speech prepared for delivery in Khayelitsha.

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/ 2 May 2008

May 2 to 8 2008

Will Gordimer explain? This is an open letter to Nadine Gordimer, in reaction to her decision to take part in the ‘Israel at 60” celebrations. Dear Ms Gordimer, I am a Palestinian lecturer in cultural studies living in Gaza but with South African citizenship. I spent more than five years in Johannesburg, earning my PhD […]

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/ 22 April 2008

Former DA member takes aim at Zille

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille was emerging as a person who would go to extremes to cover up the truth, a former member of the DA said on Tuesday. ”[She is] a person who criticises the judiciary and the media because their duties do not fit her political agenda,” Kobus Brynard, a Western Cape MPL for the African National Congress, said.

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/ 22 April 2008

Trouble at the Bar

Lawyers, especially advocates, are notoriously arrogant, hard-headed and competitive — a stereo­type, yes, but this perception is widespread. They are competing for billions of rands in legal fees, so this should come as no surprise. But it does mean the atmosphere that invariably permeates the Bar is not conducive to thoughtful and critical reflection.

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/ 21 April 2008

Disabling bosses

South African employers have short-changed the country’s intellectually impaired by employing only workers with physical disabilities and not intellectual ones. An oversight in the Employment Equity Act groups the intellectually impaired with citizens with other disabilities for job opportunities. Employers tend to opt for the physically disabled over the intellectually disabled.

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/ 16 April 2008

Erasmus commission’s work put on hold

The Erasmus commission’s sittings have been suspended pending the City of Cape Town’s application to the Cape High Court challenging the commission’s legality. This emerged after a day of behind-the-scenes negotiations on Wednesday between the legal representatives of the various parties involved.

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/ 16 April 2008

Winter is on the way, says weather service

Wintry weather conditions are expected to appear this weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Wednesday. ”The first outbreak of cold weather this year will occur from Saturday, taking more effect on Sunday,” said forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng. He said rain-free conditions were expected until Friday.

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/ 16 April 2008

Proteas downplay Cosatu threat

Mickey Arthur and Graeme Smith, Proteas coach and captain respectively, appeared unconcerned on Tuesday about a warning by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) that it plans to take up the issue of transformation in cricket, with mass action if necessary.

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/ 14 April 2008

Erasmus commission set to continue

Erasmus commission chairperson Judge Nathan Erasmus on Monday dismissed an application by the City of Cape Town for the commission’s suspension. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool last year to probe the city’s own investigation of renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.