AFPSouthern Africas regional body SADC, in a thinly veiled criticism of Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe, urged all parties to power-sharing talks to respect commitments to negotiate a unity government."We will be disappointed if the parties renege on their commitment," Southern African Development Community official Tanki Mothae told AFP in Gaborone, headquarters of the 15-nation bloc.The parties had agreed at a SADC summit on August 19 "that all Zimbabwe stakeholders ....

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Jozi is a dangerous city indeed, where cunning criminals now plant tracking devices in their victims' cars -- or do they? ....

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Gambling in Sun International's casinos appears to have weathered a downturn in the economy. ....

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Sapa The transfer of Cape Towns scattered xenophobia refugees to two centralised "safe sites" got under way this morning, authorities said.The movement of 55 people housed at the Bothasig community hall got under way at 9am, and others would be moved from a Table View hall and the Silwerstroom Strand safe site later in the day.The city and province announced yesterday that they intended to consolidate about 1600 refugees ....

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SapaThe request by the SA Navy to buy more ships only served to highlight the "fatal flaws" of the arms deal, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said."This is further proof that the entire arms deal procurement process was fatally flawed," said DA spokesman for defence Rafeek Shah in a statement.The Star newspaper reported today that the Navy wanted to spend billions of rands of taxpayers money on acquiring new patrol ....

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Negotiators not saying much; crackdown continues Nkululeko Ncana ZIMBABWEAN authorities yesterday continued their clampdown on civil society groups as secrecy surrounded attempts to reboot power-sharing talks.President Thabo Mbeki was expected to travel to Harare yesterday to resume the talks between Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe. Both the Movement for Democratic Change and Zanu-PF were tight-lipped about negotiation developments. Tsvangirais spokesman, George Sibotshiwe, said: We were made to believe that ....

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Werner Swart STRIP club owner Lolly Jackson is being investigated for another case of assault, it emerged yesterday .Details surfaced in the Randburg Magistrates Court yesterday when Jackson appeared on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Jackson, the owner of the Teazers club franchise, is accused of shooting a former employee with rubber bullets after a dispute at his Rivonia, Sandton, club in January ....

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European Union leaders are considering imposing sanctions against Russia ahead of a summit on Monday to discuss the situation in Georgia. ....

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Jacques Kallis will take over from the injured Graeme Smith as South Africa captain for the third ODI against England, coach Mickey Arthur says. ....

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Tropical Storm Gustav took a turn on Thursday, moving south as it crept toward Jamaica on a new track that could spare New Orleans. ....

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Avusa CEO Prakash Desai has been elected president of Print Media South Africa, the body representing newspaper and magazine publishers. ....

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International lottery scams are claiming that people are winning hundreds of thousands of euros and dollars. ....

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The new Municipal Property Rates Act has resulted in chaos in the city of Johannesburg, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday. ....

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It was time to organise South Africans for another struggle, this time against crime, businessman Cyril Ramaphosa said in Midrand on Thursday. ....

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The ANC national executive committee (NEC) has asked the party’s president, Jacob Zuma, to rein in Youth League president Julius Malema. ....

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NIVASHNI NAIR THE Lotter siblings who allegedly murdered their parents in a bizarre cult killing have asked the public for donations to pay their legal fees.Attorney Danie Grundlingh, representing Nicolette and Hardus Lotter, handed out a press statement to journalists outside the Pinetown Regional Court in KwaZulu-Natal this morning.The Lotter siblings appeared in court briefly, along with co-accused Matthew Naidoo.The siblings and Naidoo, Nicolettes boyfriend, were arrested ....

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SapaA Pretoria High Court judge has ordered the NG Kerk Moreletapark to unconditionally apologise to a music teacher it fired because he is in a gay relationship.Judge Dion Basson found that the congregation had unfairly discriminated against Johan Strydom when they fired him from their arts academy in 2005. He said the constitutionally-protected right to equality outweighed the churchs right to religious freedom.The judge ordered the church to pay ....

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Sapa Hundreds of commuters have been left stranded today as taxi drivers on the routes between Johannesburg and Pretoria went on strike due to a wage dispute, Johannesburg metro police said."The taxi drivers who would be transporting for Johannesburg and Pretoria are not doing so," said Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar.Minnaar said the drivers were at the Noord Street taxi rank in central Johannesburg and that the situation was "very ....

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Sapa Judgment was reserved in less than an hour in a case in which the state had hoped to get the Constitutional Court to raise the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18. The case revolves around a dentists conviction for under-age sex and his successful appeal against the conviction. This on the grounds that the old age of consent for homosexual sex of 19 was unconstitutional ....

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Sapa A taxi owner and three of his drivers have been arrested after threatening traffic officers in Klerksdorp, North West transport officials said today.Spokesman Mandla Mathebula said an all-female provincial traffic officers team was inspecting taxis in a special operation when a man driving a Nissan double cab allegedly shouted insults at them. He was later joined by another nine men."He was identified as a local taxi owner, the ....

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Werner Swart, Sashni Pather and Borrie la Grange ASHLEY Callies family, friends and colleagues say they are relieved that someone has at last been charged with causing the accident that killed her.Nicolaas Pretorius, 21 who was driving the Renault that collided with Callie s Smart car early this year appeared in the Randburg Magistrates Court yesterday to face a charge of culpable homicide.Speaking to The Times, Callies ....

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SThembiso Msomi DA LEADER Helen Zille wants opposition parties to work together to prevent the ANC from winning a two-thirds majority at next years parliamentary election.But she says the other opposition leaders are lukewarm about the idea of a political realignment as they are afraid of losing their fiefdoms. Giving the CR Swart memorial lecture at the University of the Free State last night, Zille said her role was ....

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Sapa THE two South African relief workers detained in Uganda will be deported back home, the Foreign Affairs Department said yesterday.Spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said South Africas High Commissioner, Henry Chiliza, had been informed by the Ugandan authorities that the two men would be deported today. The two were expected in the country this morning. Mamoepa said the two were not charged by the Ugandan authorities. He said once they ....

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Allegations of fraudulent nominations caused strife Nkosana Lekotjolo FIERY ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has managed to broker a truce between rival factions competing for the party chair at its Northern Cape provincial conference.The conference, which was supposed to kick off in Kuruman on Tuesday , has been delayed by allegations of fraud in the nomination process and overshadowed by violent clashes between the supporters of rival leaders, ....

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John Block has been re-elected as the Northern Capes ANC leader today at the partys provincial conference at Moshaweng, north of Kuruman.Block, with 255 votes, won the leadership race against outgoing provincial secretary Neville Mompati, with 136 votes, in a strongly contested campaign in the province in the last months.Some 392 delegates voted for the new leadership.The conference, which was delayed initially by technical problems for most of the ....

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