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News
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Recent
Judgments Available on the Internet
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Constitutional
Court of South Africa
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www.constitutionalcourt.org.za
;
http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/
Hlophe poses dilemma for top court - 25 April
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe's
appeal to the Constitutional Court raises an unprecedented
dilemma. He is asking a court to adjudicate the conduct of all its
judges.
But the Constitutional Court judges previously argued
there was no "constitutional crisis"
as Hlophe believed , and indicated how to deal with such an
appeal. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case and the
judgment of the lower court stood.
But Hlophe's attorney, Lister
Nuku, argues that only the Constitutional Court is the final
arbiter of constitutional issues and it is "untenable"
that the Supreme Court of Appeal should be the final court. -
Business Day website
How low can
you go? - 24 April
Having perused the founding affidavit prepared by his lawyer,
Lister Nuku, in this appeal, I also have to say that the Judge
President and his lawyers are definitely getting better at arguing
this case and have prepared a relatively coherent - if not legally
particularly plausible - document. However, the intentions lurking
in this document are deeply troubling and reflects very poorly on
the integrity of the Judge President and his lawyers. - Pierre de
Vos on the
Constitutionally Speaking blog
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Labour
Appeal Court
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZALAC/
Johannesburg
10 March 2009
JA
35/06 [2009] ZALAC 1
Business and Design Software (Pty) Ltd and Another v Van der
Velde
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Eastern
Cape High Court : Grahamstown (Previously Eastern
Cape Division)
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAECGHC/
; Court rolls at
http://www.saflii.org/blog/?page_id=283
24 April
2009
105/2009 [2009] ZAECGHC 2
Eastern Cape Development Corporation v Sotran Trading 3 CC and
Others
3 April 2009
CC06/09 [2009] ZAECGHC 21
S v Nkawu
Housebreaking with the intent to rape and rape
2 April 2009
CC06/09 [2009] ZAECGHC 20
S v Nkawu
Housebreaking with the intent to rape and rape
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Eastern Cape High Court : Port Elizabeth
(Previously Eastern Cape Division)
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAECPEHC/2009/1.html
21 April 2009
978/2009 [2009] ZAECPEHC 11
Campher v Cushing
The
applicant seeks an order dispensing with the respondent's
consent to the parties' child traveling
with the applicant from South Africa to London where the applicant
will undergo medical treatment
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KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Durban (previously Natal
Provincial Division)
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAKZDHC/
; Court rolls
via
http://www.lawlibrary.co.za/notice/highcourts/index.htm
and
http://www.saflii.org/blog/?page_id=197
Brothel owner loses property - 29 April
In a
first for KwaZulu-Natal, a house belonging to a brothel keeper has
been forfeited to the State. And the judge who granted the order
against Lorna Monica Bosch says he hopes the message will go out
to others "that this conduct will not be tolerated by the courts".
Durban High Court Acting Judge Ben van Heerden also warned Bosch
"to be careful" because there was "more than a hint in the (court)
papers that she also owns other properties which are likewise
utilised". The house in question is situated at Isleworth Avenue,
Montclair. The judge said based on conservative estimates of
income of R1,8-million over seven years, the forfeiture of the
house, valued at about R400 000, was not unreasonable. He also
ordered the forfeiture of R13 400 in cash which was seized during
the two raids. The house will now be sold and the proceeds
deposited in the criminal asset recovery account. -
IOL website
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KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Pietermaritzburg
(previously Natal
Provincial Division)
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAKZPHC/
; Court rolls
via
http://www.lawlibrary.co.za/notice/highcourts/index.htm
and
http://www.saflii.org/blog/?page_id=190
24 April
2009
363/2009 [2009] ZAKZPHC 16
Ithubalethu Hospitality Enterprise (Pty) Ltd v Ntenga and
Others
Application for rescission of an order granted in this Court on 1
April 2009 evicting the respondents from the Ingqayizivele Hostel
and adjoining properties in Madadeni, Newcastle
FSB acts against Edwafin - 25 April
Take great care before investing in Pietermaritzburg-based company
Edwafin Holdings. The company, which has attracted more than R200
million in investments, mainly from pensioners and teachers, is
the subject of a liquidation application, a curatorship
application (by its own directors) and the attention of the
Financial Services Board (FSB). The Pietermaritzburg High Court
has deferred making a decision on the liquidation and curatorship
applications until May 18, but the FSB has acted. Gerry Anderson,
the FSB's deputy executive in charge of financial advice, says it
has suspended the financial services provider licence of Edwabond,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Edwafin. -
Personal Finance website
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North Gauteng High Court (previously Transvaal
Provincial Division)
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/
; Court rolls
at
http://www.saflii.org/blog/?page_id=79
24 April
2009
50711/2008 [2009] ZAGPPHC 3
Khumalo and Another v South African Reserve Bank and Another
Bank to appeal ruling on Khumalo - 28 April
The Pretoria High Court had granted the Reserve Bank leave to
appeal a judgment that set aside a notice to attach businessman
Mzi Khumalo's assets, Gerhard Rudolph, the attorney representing
Khumalo, said on Friday. Rudolph said the matter would now proceed
to the Supreme Court of Appeal. He added that judgment would
probably be handed down in the first part of next year. -
Business Report website
State to pay woman after attack - 29 Apri
The state has agreed to pay R2,85-million in damages to an
80-year-old woman who was brutally attacked in her home by a youth
who was released from a reformatory after only serving about a
year and a half in the facility following a murder conviction.
Miriam Buchalter blamed her misfortune
on the authorities, whom she said had a duty to care after her and
other citizens by not allowing criminals to roam the streets. Buchalter
initially claimed R7,4-million in damages from, among others, the
Mpumalanga MECs for Education and Health under which the
reformatory falls, from central government and from the Mpumalanga
provincial government. Although all these parties at first opposed
the claim, they yesterday agreed to pay the damages. This
agreement was made an order of court by Deputy Judge President
Jerry Shongwe. The youth was on June 2, 2002 convicted in the East
London Regional Court of murdering Phyllis Rossiter van den Meden.
- IOL website
Elderly woman critical after Selborne attack - 28 January 2004
An elderly Selborne woman is in a critical condition and fighting
for her life in the intensive care unit at St Dominic's Hospital
after she was savagely attacked in her home on Monday and left for
dead. Miriam Buchalter, 70, a retired professional social worker
and well known in local circles, sustained serious head injuries
after she was allegedly kicked and beaten with fists. A hospital
spokesperson said Buchalter had suffered swelling to the brain and
was on a ventilator. Yesterday Buchalter's husband, Max, a retired
lawyer turned estate agent, said he was horrified by the incident.
- Dispatch Online website
'Advocate Barbie'
Case
Hell awaits Prinsloo in SA, says father - 28 April
When Johan Prinsloo said goodbye to his son Dirk as the latter
left on a business trip to Russia in November 2005, he said
farewell in his heart, fearing it could be the last time he would
see his eldest child. He said it was best for Dirk not to return
to South Africa. "He is a fugitive. If he returns he will go to
jail immediately. We all know what will happen to him there. Now,
even though he is away from his family, and we haven't had any
contact in more than three years, he is at least free," Prinsloo
said. Meanwhile, Visser's mother has also given an interview in
which she described how her family was dealing with the situation.
"We do not feel comfortable with him now sending emails around and
knowing he is reading everything (which is said in court)," Susan
Lemmer told The Star. Lemmer and her new husband, Professor
Johan Lemmer, a well-known sexologist, feel the police are not
doing enough to trace Prinsloo. -
IOL website
Presidential Pardons
Motlanthe pardons
halted - 29 April
The High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday granted an interim
interdict preventing President Kgalema Motlanthe from granting
pardons to more than 100 prisoners convicted of politically
motivated apartheid crimes. Judge Willie Seriti ruled in favour of
a coalition of civil society groups who had brought the urgent
application. - iafrica
website
Freeze on pardons 'a victory'
- 29 April
An
interim North Gauteng High Court order freezing the granting of
presidential pardons for politically motivated apartheid-era
crimes was yesterday welcomed as a "massive victory for freedom of
expression". Judge Willie Seriti interdicted the President from
granting special pardons pending the finalisation of an
application either to stop the pardon process altogether, or to
halt it until victims had been given an opportunity to make
representations. Melissa Moore of the Freedom of Expression
Institute welcomed the ruling as "one
big step forward". "We're
ecstatic. It's a huge win for access to
information. We believe the process (followed by the Reference
Group) was unconstitutional because it excluded full disclosure of
the offences (and) input by victims and was conducted under a
blanket of secrecy", she said. Judge
Seriti said the practical effect of a parole and a pardon were the
same. "I cannot find any justification
for allowing victims of crime to be heard prior to a prisoner
being released on parole, but to deny the same right to a victim
in the case of a pardon", he added. -
The Citizen website
Court
backs civil society by blocking political pardons - 29 April
The court decision today that blocks South Africa's
president from granting pardons for political offenses until
victims are given a greater role in the proceedings is a major
victory for victims' rights and the rule
of law, the International Center for Transitional Justice said.
"This court decision reminds South
Africans that the views of victims cannot be ignored",
said Juan E Mendez, president of ICTJ.
"It's a
reminder to the world that even in political transitions, courts
must and can demand full disclosure of the truth and protect the
rule of law". -
allAfrica website
Vlok pardon application delayed - 30 April
Apartheid minister Adriaan Vlok and ex-police chief Johann van der
Merwe are among the 100 prisoners who will not be granted pardons
soon following a court ruling this week, Beeld newspaper
reported on Thursday. - IOL
website
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North-West
High Court
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZANWHC/2008/
'Residents are not negotiating in good faith' - 28 April
The Tswaing municipality in the North West was turning to the
courts to compel residents withholding their taxes in protest
against poor service delivery to pay up. This was after residents
of Sannieshof, one of the three towns falling under the
municipality opted to withhold their taxes, placing it in a
private fund until service delivery improved. Tswaing municipal
manager Dakota Legoete said residents would be taken to the court
should they fail to adhere to the letters of demand sent to them.
- IOL website
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Western Cape High Court (previously Cape
Provincial Division)
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http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAWCHC/
; Court rolls at
http://www.saflii.org/blog/?page_id=134
Glenister renews challenge to Scorpions - 28 April
Businessman Hugh Glenister has renewed his court challenge to the
legislation disbanding the Scorpions. A full bench of the Cape
High Court will sit on June 2 to hear his application as an urgent
matter. Acting judge president Jeanette Traverso, sitting in
chambers, set the June date for the hearing by consent, and said
she would allocate three judges. The respondents include the
president of the republic, the ministers of justice and of safety
and security, and the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Glenister's attorney Kevin Louis said on Tuesday that the basis of
Glenister's new application was essentially the same as the one he
brought last year. However new grounds had been added, among them
that the public participation process around the bills had been
defective. There was also new material on labour law issues, and a
contention that scrapping the unit violated a United Nations
convention on fighting corruption, that South Africa was signatory
to. - Mail & Guardian website
Keyphrases :
National Prosecuting
Authority Amendment Bill
SAPS Amendment Bill
Glenister back for elite police - 29 April
The man who spent millions fighting the Scorpions'
demise is back in court.
This time Hugh Glenister is asking the courts to
declare unconstitutional and invalid the legislation that was used
to disband the Scorpions to form the Directorate of Priority Crime
Investigation. The legislation came into effect on February 20.
Yesterday, the Johannesburg businessman's
legal team appeared before Judge Shanaaz Meer in the Western Cape
High Court in Cape Town. -
The Times website
'An exaggeration or he is lying' - 29 April
Former police superintendent Marius van der Westhuizen was a
dishonest witness who tried to cast himself as a victim of his
circumstances, State prosecutor Mornay Julius has submitted in his
closing arguments in the Cape High Court. Van der Westhuizen is
accused of murdering his three children, Bianca, 16, Marius, 5 and
Antoinette, 21 months, in Jul 2006. The trial started three years
ago. - IOL website
Court grounds helicopter sale - 29 April
The High Court has stopped controversial city businessman Gary van
der Merwe from selling helicopters and helicopter parts, worth an
estimated R50-million, to the highest bidder at public auction.
The order was granted by the Western Cape High Court to halt the
auction on Tuesday morning after lawyers for Swiss businessman
Arnoldo Lascala filed an urgent application last week when their
client became aware the items at auction had not yet been paid
for. - IOL website
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Magistrates Courts
Brixton
Justice denied : abducted domestic lambasts the court - 30 April
Angelina Mulabisana refused to leave the Brixton magistrate’s court
yesterday after the state withdrew the charges against her former
bosses who allegedly kidnapped and assaulted her after a robbery in
their home. State prosecutor George Maphanga withdrew the charges
against Dr Hafiz Timol and his sons-in-law Bilal Ahmed and Hashim
Jadwat without giving the court any reason. Mulabisana was allegedly
assaulted and held captive for eight days by the three after a
robbery at Timol’s home. They allegedly also pointed a firearm at
her family members when they came to rescue her. -
The Times website
Durban
Court set date for pub shooting trial - 27 April
On Friday, Inspector Samuel Steven, 39, of Point Police Station,
Inspector Leon Steven, 33, of Mayville Police Station, Naeem Sadick,
22, Nithanandan Ganes, 37 and Julian Naidoo, 31, appeared in the
Durban Magistrate's Court on three charges of murder and two of
attempted murder. Information at the time of the shooting indicated
that a remark about penis size had led to racist taunts and the
murders of the three men, Shawn Strydom, 32, Nick Jansen van
Rensburg, 57, and Rory Menzes, 40. Prosecutor Romy McGrath told the
court on Friday the trial date had been set for September 14 to 25
at the Durban High Court. The legal representative for the accused,
Zane Haneef, said the trial date was suitable. The Steven brothers
are on bail of R5 000 each, while Ganes, Naidoo and Sadick are on R3
000 each. - IOL website
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Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa
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http://www.bccsa.co.za/
Tokolosh rape interview gets thumbs-up - 28 April
A Free State radio station's interview with a man who claimed he
was being raped nightly by a tokolosh did not exceed the bounds of
freedom of expression, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission has
ruled. In the ruling, released on Tuesday, the commission
dismissed one complainant's claim that Radio OFM had made fun of a
mentally ill person by broadcasting the interview. -
IOL website
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Competition
Commission, Tribunal and
Appeal Court
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http://www.compcom.co.za/
;
http://www.comptrib.co.za/
Collude
at your peril - 28 April
The competition commission has endorsed the
Competition Amendment Bill,
a view that puts it at odds with president Kgalema Motlanthe, who
tried to have the bill changed but failed. Nandi Mokoena, strategy
manager at the competition commission, says the commission is
satisfied with the bill's personal criminal liability and complex
monopoly provisions. -
iafrica website
Competition Tribunal
Lewis has keen eye on competition pitfalls of crisis - 29
April
David Lewis trained as an economist. He served on the task team
that advised the trade and industry minister on developing
competition policy and drafted the
Competition Act.
When the act came into effect in 2000, Lewis was appointed as the
chairman of the competition tribunal, a position he still holds.
Etienne Swanepoel interviewed Lewis last week to seek his views on
the global financial crisis and what it means for competition
policy and regulators. -
Business Report website
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Government
and Legislation
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South
Africa Government Information
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http://www.gov.za
;
http://www.polity.org.za
; http://www.buanews.gov.za/
Statements and
Speeches
30 April
2009
Monetary Policy Committee statement
29 April
2009
Statement on the Cabinet meeting held on 29 April 2009
Keyphrases :
Elections 2009
Swine Flu
28 April
2009
National Youth Policy 2009 to 2014 has been approved by Cabinet
6 April 2009
Task team appointed to investigate allegations of corruption in
property management
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Legislation
Consumer Protection
Bill
Consumer bill could create prepaid card headache - 29 April
The Consumer Protection Bill, intended to protect consumers from
unscrupulous service, will also regulate prepaid cards, a legal
expert said on Wednesday. "The intention is to protection
consumers who buy prepaid airtime vouchers and gift vouchers, but
it may also create further obligations for businesses that issue
them", said Ina Meiring, a director at Werksmans Incorporating Jan
S de Villers in a statement. -
Business Report website
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Useful
Links and Items of Interest
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Legal Profession
South Africa
Raising the Bar for Sir Sydney - 25 April
Sir Sydney Kentridge has been called "an
elder statesman of the Bar" by the
Times of London, while that city’s Independent has
described him as "the embodiment of the
barrister's argument that substance
should always prevail over style".
This time it was the Johannesburg Bar Council's
turn to heap praise on a man who has represented icons such as
Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko and who has served as an acting
judge on the Constitutional Court. -
The Times website
Interdict prods ECDC lawyer to get legal - 28 April
An East London lawyer who sits on the Eastern Cape Development
Corporation (ECDC) board is off the hook following an interdict
from the Cape Law Society to stop her operating as an attorney.
Nothemba Mlonzi of Mlonzi & Co Inc was interdicted by
the society after allegedly failing to obtain a 2009 Fidelity Fund
Certificate on time.
The matter reached the Grahamstown High Court in March
this year. This week, Mlonzi provided the Daily
Dispatch with a copy of her 2009 Fidelity Fund Certificate.
Mlonzi said since the story was published in the Daily Dispatch
and on the Legalbrief online website, her image had been
tainted among the legal profession. But a response from the lawyer
instructed by the Cape Law Society, Mark Nettelton, showed that
Mlonzi only got her Fidelity Fund certificate after the
application had been made in the Grahamstown High Court. The
matter against Mlonzi was withdrawn by the society. -
Dispatch Online website
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South Africa
Arms and Ammunition
Gun-owner groups up in arms - 26 April
The lack of compensation for firearms handed to the police for
destruction would contribute to a proliferation of illegal firearms,
the Black Gun Owners' Association of South Africa (BGOASA) has
warned. This was because firearm owners were prepared to sell their
firearms to anyone willing to pay, including criminals who were
prepared to buy any weapon of which the serial number had been
removed. Abios Khoele, the chairman of the BGOASA, said the only
people buying guns at present were those wanting illegal ones. -
IOL website
Company Law
How to go
bankrupt - 28 April
When a business closes down there are many expenses that need to be
covered, such as retrenchment payouts, legal expenses, lease
installments, rentals and interest that continue after closure. If
these expenses are not tax deductible, they become very costly
indeed. David Warneke, a Tax Partner at Cameron and Prentice
Chartered Accountants, discusses the parameters of expenses that
qualify for tax deductions. - Cape
Business News website
Finance
Credit providers take on debt - 29 April
An initiative that will attempt to drag millions of overindebted
consumers out of the mire is to be launched by the Banking
Association of South Africa and other credit providers in May. This
comes after the latest Credit Bureau Monitor for the quarter to
December showed that only 10.2 million consumers were in good
standing. The figures were released by the National Credit Regulator
(NCR). - Business Report
website
Standard cuts CEO's bonus as bad loans climb - 28 April
Standard Bank, Africa's largest bank, cut CEO Jacko Maree's bonus
35% after profit growth slowed and bad loans increased. Maree
received a basic salary of R4,6m, a bonus of R8,5m, along with
pension contributions and benefits that gave him a total salary of
R14,1m for 2008, the bank said in its annual report last week. Maree
earned R4,5m in basic pay the previous year, or R18,6m including
bonus and pension. - Moneyweb
website
M&F exec pay questioned - 29 April
Mutual & Federal was castigated at the annual general meeting
(AGM) in Johannesburg Wednesday for not spelling out its
remuneration policies clearly in the annual report. M&F paid
directors and senior managers bonuses after retrenching 20% of its
workforce, passing its dividend and declaring a R128m attributable
loss in the year to December. Shareholder activist Theo Botha said
it was bad corporate governance that the annual report provided no
measurables by which directors could be evaluated. He didn't know
how M&F's corporate governance was not aligned with that of Old
Mutual. - Moneyweb website
Human Rights
South Africa : stop deporting Zimbabweans - 30 April
The South African government should immediately halt detaining and
deporting Zimbabweans from South Africa in violation of the
government's recently announced moratorium, Human Rights Watch said
today. On April 16, 2009, South African police drove a group of
Zimbabweans detained at a police-operated military base in Musina to
the Zimbabwean side of the border, even though South African border
officials - complying with the government's moratorium - refused to
grant them exit documents. The deported Zimbabweans were then
refused entry into their country on the grounds that they could not
prove their nationality and were then driven back to the military
base in Musina and detained once again. -
Human Rights Watch website
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal makes 2010 history! - [29 April]
The Province of KwaZulu-Natal, home of the FIFA 2010 Host City
Durban, has made history by becoming the first province in South
Africa to launch a Provincial 2010 website. The website provides
information, news and updates on the provinces preparations and
developments for 2010. -
KwaZulu-Natal Top Business website
Keyphrase :
2010 FIFA World Cup
See :
KwaZulu-Natal Province 2010
website
Labour Issues
Union asks teachers to join action - 28 April
The South African Democratic Teachers'
Union has asked teachers at KwaZulu-Natal schools for a
"chalk-down" in
sympathy with striking administrative staff.
More than 5 000 provincial
department of education staff last week joined the strike, which
began on March 26. They are demanding that the provincial education
department attend to claims of alleged racism, discrimination
against Pietermaritzburg staff, who did not receive service bonuses
last year and the non-payment of their performance bonuses since
2006. - The Times website
Sadtu to oppose
court order on strike - 27 April
The SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) say they are ready to
challenge the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department after it issued
them with a court order preventing them from continuing their strike
action. Sadtu provincial secretary KK Nkosi was speaking after the
Labour Court, on Friday, issued a court order on the "illegal"
strike action by the department's office-based employees, who are
members of Sadtu. The court order restrains Sadtu and its members
from engaging in, or continuing with an unprotected strike or
inciting or forcing employees of the KZN Education Department to
participate in or continue with an unprotected strike. -
IOL website
Sadtu
must return to work or face dismissals - 28 April
The South African Democratic Teachers Union in KwaZulu-Natal vowed
to defy a court interdict that the education department won last
week against its illegal strike.
But the department advised strikers to report for work
this morning or face disciplinary action, including dismissal.
Sadtu said none of its office workers at the department
in Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Empangeni will be at work today.
The department sought the urgent court order last week
after thousands of its workers went on strike. The interdict ruled
the strike illegal and allowed the department to take disciplinary
action, including dismissals, against workers. -
The Sowetan website
Blackout threat : education MEC says strike is illegal and 7000
workers could be dismissed - 30 April
The KwaZulu-Natal education department will follow through on its
warning to dismiss 7 000 striking
administrative workers and cleaners, education MEC Ina Cronje warned
yesterday.
The department said a large number of administrative
workers went on strike last week at key offices in Durban and
Pietermaritzburg. The South African Democratic Teachers Union
maintains that the department employs about 11
000 administrative workers and several thousand are on strike
in several areas of the region, including Pietermaritzburg, Durban,
Empangeni and Port Shepstone. -
The Sowetan website
Striking doctors face being sacked - 28 April
As hospitals in the northern areas of Tshwane turn patients away,
the Health Department is threatening to fire hundreds of striking
doctors. More than 336 doctors from Dr George Mukhari Hospital and
24 from Jubilee Hospital have ignored a court interdict issued on
Friday barring them from striking. The doctors are demanding
occupational specific dispensation (OSD) payments, which then Health
Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang promised in June 2007 would be
implemented in 2008. On Monday a spokesperson for the striking
doctors, Dr Rapitse Malatji, said the strike was continuing and
affected "many hospitals" across the country.
Both the SA Medical Association (Sama) and Cosatu urged the
doctors to return to work.
On Monday the striking doctors met Sama and a mediator, said Malatji.
"Sama should not represent us. We want to be directly
involved", he said.
Malatji was dismissive of the Public Service Co-ordinating
Bargaining Council, where the department finally tabled an OSD
proposal on Friday. The council meets again later on Tuesday.
- IOL website
Hogan 'lied about salaries' - 24 April
Health Minister Barbara Hogan lied when she said she already had the
Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) proposal for doctors on
hand, said the National Union of Public Service & Allied Workers (Nupsaw)
on Friday. General secretary Success Mataitsane said: "We are
disappointed and disgusted that the Minister lied to us about
already having the OSD proposal with salary structures and working
conditions". However, the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining
Council said in a statement that an OSD proposal was tabled during
the first negotiations meeting that took about two hours on Friday.
- IOL website
25 April 2009
Labour court grants order against striking doctors
SA Government Online website
Labour
Court grants order against striking doctors - 27 April
The Gauteng Health Department has obtained an interdict against
doctors taking part in an illegal strike. The Labour Court granted
the order in favour of the department, saying that all doctors are
restrained from participating the strike action which has been found
unlawful. The order urges doctors to return to their workstations
immediately and striking doctors will be held liable for costs
incurred by government in relation to its legal expenses. -
BuaNews Online website
Manto to blame for strike - 27 April
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's broken promise - made as a
strike-breaking deal in 2007 - has come back to bite her former
department. - IOL website
We are not on strike, but on action : doctors - 28 April
While the authorities at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital were
insistent on Tuesday that things were running as normal, a group of
doctors was equally insistent that a "Bara disgruntled doctors
committee" was in place. - IOL
website
Striking doctors issued with dismissal letters - 28 April
Striking doctors have received letters of dismissal over a work
stoppage which centres on grievances over pay and working
conditions, Dr Bandile Hadebe said on Tuesday."They have been handed
letters of dismissal," said Hadebe, chairperson of the Junior
Doctors' Association, an affiliate of the South African Medical
Association (Sama). - Mail & Guardian
website
Nurses
join the fray over doctors' strike -
29 April
Nurses yesterday asked the Health Department to lift its threat to
fire doctors striking over pay and working conditions.
Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa)
spokesperson Asanda Fongqo said many doctors were returning to work,
making the department's issue of dismissal
letters "unfortunate".
"We therefore appeal to the department to
withdraw the dismissals thus giving the bargaining process a chance
to bring the (Occupation Specific Dispensation, or OSD ) matter to
its logical conclusion", said Fongqo.
"We further reiterate that those doctors
that have not yet returned to work should also heed the call and
duly do so". -
Dispatch Online website
Agreement
reached to end doctors' strike - 29 April
It's business as usual at all hospitals following an agreement
reached between the Department of Health and the South African
Medical Association (SAMA) to end the illegal strike by doctors with
immediate effect. During a meeting on Tuesday, all parties
recommitted themselves to the negotiation process currently underway
in the Bargaining Chamber. -
BuaNews Online website
Metrobus halts services today as strike looms -
28 April
Metrobus, Johannesburg's municipal bus service, said yesterday that
it planned to halt its bus service today in anticipation of a strike
that threatened to affect thousands of commuters, who use its buses
to get to work and school. The SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu)
gave notice of the strike on April 9 and had to fend off Metrobus's
legal challenge to stop the strike but o n Friday the Labour Court
permitted the union to take to the streets. Samwu spokesman Dumisani
Langa said workers had vowed to strike until their demands, mainly
involving salaries, were met. - allAfrica website
Land Affairs and
Property
Real estate a target for launderers - 30 April
Estate agents are susceptible to and are increasingly being
targeted by money launderers, as other ways of banking ill-gotten
wealth are being closed. This is according to an Institute of
Security Studies advisory on the measures required to control
money laundering in the real-estate industry. Thobani Matheza, a
researcher dealing with organised crime and money laundering, said
the amount of money to be made in both residential and commercial
real estate was fertile ground for fraud and money laundering. -
IOL website
Development
Vetch's plan 'sets wrong precedent' - 29 April
The decision to approve a new yachting marina and luxury
apartments at Vetch's Pier in Durban had set a negative
environmental precedent that would encourage other property
developers to privatise further stretches of public property on
the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. This is one of several objections to
the proposed small-craft harbour development raised by the
Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa),
Coastwatch KZN and other interest groups as part of a formal
appeal process that expired on Tuesday. -
IOL website
Economic crunch hits CBD hotel project - 29 April
The first major property development in the city has gone bust, in
one of the clearest signs that Cape Town is not immune to the
global economic meltdown. The Phoenix Hotel in Strand Street,
which would have been the subject of a R320-million development,
will be auctioned on May 20 by Alliance Group, after the
developers went into liquidation last year. The developers had
planned to convert the 81-year-old Phoenix into a hotel with 400
rooms, 140 residential units and a retail section on the ground
floor. - IOL website
Land Claims and
Expropriation
Community wins land dispute claim - 27 April
A bitter, decade-long land dispute between a sugar company and a
KwaZulu-Natal community has ended with a settlement worth hundreds
of millions of rands in favour of the community. Agriculture and
Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana yesterday held a ceremony to
announce that the Dube community in the Ilembe District
Municipality (near Stanger) would receive 2 741ha of land worth
R754-million. The community had rejected a R20m offer by the SA
Sugar Association and the eLan Group to buy the land off them. -
IOL website
Red tape lapse threatens huge land claim - 29 April
A massive land claim in a prime agricultural area near Brits in
the North West is likely to collapse after the intended
beneficiaries failed to notify the Land Claims Court of their wish
to pursue their claim in court, an oversight that landowners say
means the claim has been effectively withdrawn.
Much of the land has been lying fallow since 2004, when
notices of the land claims were first published in the Government
Gazette. The Geluk land claims committee, which represents the
owners of about 200 of a total of 300 properties in the district,
opposes the land claim on legal and historical terms, chiefly
because, the landowners say, the communities received adequate
compensation for their land at the time of dispossession in the
early 20th century.
The claimants, the Bapo-Ba Mogale and Bakwena Ba Mogopa
communities, dispute that, saying land received in compensation
was under their beneficial occupation long before the
dispossessions, implying they were granted their own properties.
They say also that the quality of the compensatory land does not
compare with that of the dispossessed land. -
Business Day website
Maritime Law
SA ports at centre of economic storm - 26 April
In South Africa, lawyers can seize the assets of bankrupt or
defaulting firms.
South African harbours are rapidly becoming maritime
graveyards as growing numbers of ships are grounded by the global
recession.
The vessels, all foreign owned, are now collecting
water, rust and seagulls as their owners'
financial difficulties mount.
Transnet this week confirmed there are at least 15
vessels under "arrest" and therefore stranded at South Africa's
main ports. The number
of such cases affecting South Africa has also risen due to recent
legal obstacles for claimants in New York, where it was previously
possible to obtain attachment orders in lieu of payments. "It is a
problem. In the last recession we had sometimes 10 ships under
arrest in Durban, which clogged it up",
said Shepstone & Wylie partner Shane Dwyer.
"In the end the port went to
court and got a ruling that they were entitled to move the ships
off working berths. Now if the port says the port is congested,
then the sheriff has to decide whether to send vessels to the
outer anchorage and put guards on them, to make sure they don’t
make a run for it". -
The Times website
Media
Shower of criticism has Zuma fans sputtering - 29 April
Supporters of South Africa's next president are fighting against a
barrage of caustic satire, raising worries of a free-speech
crackdown. In a country where Mr Zuma has a near-monopoly on
power, where his ruling African National Congress has just
recorded an overwhelming majority for the fourth consecutive
election, fearless satirists such as Zapiro have emerged as the
true opposition. South Africa has a long tradition of biting
satire. Political commentary here is sharper and more acerbic than
almost anywhere else in the world. But many of Mr Zuma's
supporters are unhappy with the mocking portraits of their hero,
and there is mounting pressure on the satirists to become a little
more deferential. -
Globe and Mail website
Keyphrases :
Jonathan Shapiro
Nando's. Julius Malema
Pieter-Dirk Uys. MacBeki
SABC. Special Assignment. Political Satire
www.hayibo.com
Zapiro. Lady Justice
Zapiro. Showerhead
See also :
InfoUpdate no.9 of 2009. Media. Political satire
Icasa must rule on Snuki despite his departure - 29 April
Snuki Zikalala is leaving the SABC. It will be interesting to see
whether this in any way prompts the alleged watchdog of the
broadcasting industry, Icasa, to deliver judgement on the hearing
it granted to the Freedom of Expression Institute and the Friends
of the SABC on Zikalala’s blacklisting of media commentators he
considered critical of former president Thabo Mbeki in particular
and the ANC in general. - Michael Trapido on the
Thought Leader
website
Keyphrases :
Broadcast Act. Section
10(1)D
Constitution.Section 192
Jacques Pauw
John Perlman
Paula Slier
Pippa Green
William Mervin Gumede
Zikalala's departure : ANC distances itself - 29 April
The ANC played no part in the decision to end the contract of SABC
news head Snuki Zikalala, the ruling party's treasurer-general
Mathews Phosa said on Wednesday. -
IOL website
Minerals and Energy
Pamodzi Gold liquidators choose job preservation over fire sale
- 24 April
Liquidators are normally associated with selling assets as fast as
possible and distributing the proceeds to the creditors. But not
so the provisional joint liquidators of Pamodzi Gold's
North West, Free State and East Rand gold mines. Laudably, the
team of Enver Motala of SBT Trust, Allan Pellow of Westrust, and
Deon Botha of Corporate Liquidation, have instead opted to
preserve the 15 000 permanent and contractor jobs involved, keep
food on the tables of some 100 000 people, and engage JIC Mining
Services, of Midrand, to resuscitate the revenue cycle and turn
the Orkney, President Steyn and Grootvlei gold mines to positive
account. These liquidators are sensitive to the socioeconomic
importance of continuing to operate Pamodzi Gold's
mines and are steering clear of the usual 'fire
sale' approach. But while they are being
soft on people, they intend being hard on outcomes, says Motala,
assuring Mining Weekly that he will leave no stone unturned
to determine the causes of Pamodzi Gold’s corporate failure. -
Creamer Media's Mining
Weekly website
'We won’t survive the weekend' : Pamodzi Gold East Rand GM -
28 April
"We've got 12
hours of pumping left. We won’t survive the weekend",
a desperate Pamodzi Gold GM East Rand Operations Graham
Chamberlain told Mining Weekly Online on Tuesday.
Chamberlain said that once pumping ceased, it would be a matter of
days before Pamodzi Gold would be faced with the dramatic decision
of either allowing the underground pump station to flood, which
would have catastrophic repercussions for the East Rand basin, or
of breaking the law by pumping untreated acid mine drainage (AMD)
water on to the surface. When Mining Weekly Online called
on Tuesday morning, Chamberlain had still not received any news on
financing, neither the promised R2-million-plus-a-month government
subsidy, nor the bridging finance meant to be put in place by the
liquidators. - Creamer
Media's Mining Weekly website
Now R5m from government for Pamodzi Gold water problem missing
- 29 April
A sum of R5-million said by government to have been paid over to
Pamodzi Gold to solve its rising water problem is missing. Pamodzi
Gold East Rand GM Graham Chamberlain told Mining Weekly Online
on Wednesday that the money had still not been received but
government spokespersons say that it has been deposited. -
Creamer Media's Mining
Weekly website
ArcelorMittal reports loss of R237-million - 29 March
ArcelorMittal SA reported a headline loss of R237-million for the
first quarter of 2009, the steel giant said on Wednesday. This
compared with a R1,1-billion profit for the fourth quarter of
2008. - Mail & Guardian website
Steel group says jobs may come under threat if poor market
persists - 29 April
Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa – which has hitherto
refrained from retrenching permanent staff, despite increasingly
torrid market conditions – indicated on Wednesday that it could
not give "any guarantees"
on the employment front. Speaking during a media conference call,
CEO Nku Nyembezi-Heita said that she "simply
cannot say" whether jobs could be
safeguarded across the entire group, lamenting that there were no
immediate prospects for a recovery in demand and prices. -
Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
National Prosecuting
Authority
Zuma Case : Dropped
Charges
Mpshe leaves decision on evidence to Zuma - 25 April
National Prosecuting Authority head Mokotedi Mpshe has balked at
handing over all the evidence that persuaded him to drop charges
against ANC President Jacob Zuma. Instead of providing the
Democratic Alliance with all the information that led to his
decision, Mpshe on Friday left it to the ANC president to permit
the release of the confidential representations that secured the
withdrawal of all charges against Zuma. Mpshe's stance has
effectively stopped the flow of all information about his decision
to drop charges against Zuma - including prosecutors' memos and
statements about why the case against him was solid and should
stand - from being released before Zuma takes his place at the
Union Buildings. - IOL website
Zuma ignores NPA demand - 30 April
President-elect Jacob Zuma has ignored acting prosecuting head
Mokotedi Mpshe's request to respond to a court bid that would
expose all the evidence that led to his release. -
IOL website
Hong Kong judge thinks Mpshe did plagiarise - 30 April
The Hong Kong judge whose ruling was used in acting National
Prosecuting Authority head Mokotedi Mpshe's explanation of why he
was dropping charges against Jacob Zuma says that the failure to
cite him was "sloppy and undisciplined". Now-retired Justice
Conrad Seagroatt was interviewed by the independent news website Grubstreet,
based
in the Eastern Cape. He is quoted as saying
that imaginative lawyers will often use previous judgments without
going through the rigmarole of proper citation . . . "As I have
said, that was a sloppy approach which even a law student would be
tutored against". -
IOL website
See :
Was Mpshe's Zuma decision plagiarised?
The Hong Kong judge thinks so! - 30 April
Grubstreet website
What Justice Seagroatt said - 30 April
Grubstreet website
Scorpions
SAPS, Scorpions in cyber crimes limbo - 28 April
The Directorate of Special Operations' (DSO's) cyber crimes
investigators are yet to be incorporated in the South African
Police Service (SAPS) cyber crimes unit after the DSO was
disbanded in January. The SAPS and Scorpions were expected to
merge and form a super-elite crime-fighting unit, early this year,
but have not yet done so. The National
Prosecuting Authority's (NPA's) Web site says the prosecutors who
worked in the Scorpions would remain in the NPA, while the
investigators would be relocated into the SAPS. A member of the
SAPS, who refuses to be named, says all the officers in the cyber
crimes unit will have to reapply for their positions when the
Scorpions are integrated into the police's commercial crimes
office. This will leave more than 20 SAPS officers in limbo as to
their future in cyber crimes. -
ITWeb website
Politics
ANC's foreign funding debated - 28 April
Claims that the ANC was heavily funded in its election campaign by
"China, Libya and Angola" have been made by the DA. DA
spokesperson Ryan Coetzee said this kind of funding made it
impossible for other political parties to compete with the ANC on
an equal footing. "The ANC gets money from overseas," he said. "It
claims it does not get money from the governments, but gets it
from the parties. In a one-party state, the government is the
party. It is the same thing. - IOL
website
See also :
Government of Canada
introduces legislation
to strengthen accountability
for political loans
below
IEC
hands over list of MPs - 29 April
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has handed over the
list of designated Members of Parliament to Chief Justice Pius
Langa. The list contains the names of the members political
parties have chosen to represent them in Parliament until the next
General Elections. - BuaNews
Online website
Excerpt :
"The list of designated Members of Parliament and of the nine
Provincial Legislatures was published in the Government Gazette on
28 April 2009. The published lists are available on the IEC
website at
www.elections.org.za"
Unable to access gazette online at present
Seat assignment : National Assembly
Seat assignment : Provincial Legislatures
Independent Electoral
Commission : Elections 2009 website
Phosa : expect policy, structural changes in next months - 29
April
Expect a number of structural, policy and management changes to be
announced in the next month or two, African National Congress
(ANC) treasurer general Mathews Phosa said on Wednesday. Phosa, in
a speech prepared for delivery at the Global Emerging Markets
Summit in London, said president-elect Jacob Zuma's government
would focus on providing services that would accelerate
socio-economic transformation in South Africa. -
Mail & Guardian website
Zuma shows he won't be pushed around - 30 April
ANC leader and president-in-waiting Jacob Zuma stood his ground
against pressure from his allies to impose their preferred
candidates on him. It is believed he reminded the SA Communist
Party and Cosatu, which were still quibbling about their preferred
premier candidates being ignored, that he would appoint competent
people in cabinet and to lead provinces. Those close to the
process said Zuma politely told the allies to rise above partisan
interests and "focus on the bigger picture of building government
and the country". - IOL
website
Ramaphosa to replace Manuel : ANC insiders - 30 April
African National Congress (ANC) NEC member and business man Cyril
Ramaphosa was most likely to replace Trevor Manuel as finance
minister when President-elect Jacob Zuma announces his cabinet
soon, according to reliable ANC insiders. Zuma, say insiders, has
already approached Ramaphosa to take up the position. -
Moneyweb website
ANC says fiscal, monetary policy to stay - 29 April
South Africa's new government under Jacob Zuma will leave the
country's conservative fiscal and monetary policies in place, a
top ruling party official said. African National Congress
Treasurer-General Mathews Phosa said at an emerging markets
conference in London the government would focus on improving
public services to uplift the lives of the poor. "The incoming
president will verbalise his own economic policies .
. . but we have repeatedly stated
that our conservative fiscal and monetary policies will remain in
place", he said in a copy of a speech
released on Wednesday. -
Creamer Media's
Engineering News website
'Shoot to Kill'
Police killed in Durban shootout - 28 April
Two police officers and a truck driver
were killed in a shoot-out with robbers in Durban's
Point area this afternoon. Another police
officer and a bystander are recovering in hospital. One robber was
shot dead and two others injured. Police managed to apprehend a
fourth suspect, while another escaped. -
IOL website
Keyphrase :
Al Nagra Motors
Police track and kill gunman - 30 April
One gunman was shot dead and two were arrested after a robbery at a
Warwick Avenue butchery in central Durban on Wednesday. A group of
men held the butchery staff at gunpoint and ran off with an
undisclosed amount of money. Police spokesperson Jay Naicker said
that the police were notified and tracked the robbers' escape using
the city's closed-circuit television network. -
IOL website
Shoot to kill, South African minister tells police - 10 April
2008
South African police must shoot to kill and ignore regulations in
the battle against one of the worst rates of violent crime in the
world, a government minister said. "You must kill the bastards
(criminals) if they threaten you or the community. You must not
worry about the regulations," said Deputy Safety and Security
Minister Susan Shabangu. -
Polity website
Trade and Industry
Textile
industry looks at novel ways to thrive - 29 April
While the woes of the clothing and textile industry are worsening,
an apparel initiative to promote a regional response to global
demands shows that not everyone in the industry has surrendered to
the grim outlook. A two-day African apparel business-to-business
(B2B) event, linking firms across the value chain in Africa with
buyers from Europe and the US, was hosted in Pretoria last week. -
allAfrica website
New buttons on
a tatty old coat - 30 April
Clothing and textile conglomerate
Seardel, which generated sizeable
losses in the
half-year to end December 2008, has relieved the 'old guard' of
its duties and dressed the boardroom with sharp and smart new
directors. The sweeping changes at executive level follow a change
in control at Seardel from the Searll family to empowerment group
Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI). HCI underwrote a R300
million rescue rights issue in late 2008 to the tune of R250
million, which effectively gave the empowerment company outright
control of the beleaguered clothing and textile company. HCI's
commanding presence is reinforced with the appointment of a slew
of new directors - Yunis Shaik, Amon Ntuli, Kevin Govender and
Mohamed Ahmed. The
truth of the matter – at least in CBN's
humble opinion – is that Seardel probably needs new and energetic
executives with fresh operational strategies to the effect a
meaningful turnaround. Gut feel is that the new look executive
team will bring a much needed new perspective on cost efficiencies
– something that may be helped by the fact that HCI has a close
relationship with the Clothing and Textile Union (a stakeholder
and shareholder in Seardel).
-
Cape Business News website
Western Cape
29 April 2009
Erasmus Commission : Statement on behalf of Western Cape Premier,
Ms Lynne Brown
SA Government Online website
Miscellaneous
UCT staffer wanted in US - 26 April
Listed on a website for wanted fugitives in the American state of
Connecticut, UCT's embattled deputy registrar (legal services and
secretariat), Paul Ngobeni, says it is all a misunderstanding.
Ngobeni's image (taken from the UCT website) appears on the
website for a Connecticut bail bond company along with several
other suspects who had skipped bail. He also said a decision to
reciprocally disbar him from practising law in Massachusetts on
April 16 was unlawful, because it had been reached without a
"requisite hearing". - IOL
website
EL
woman's plea : where's
my grandson now? - 29 April
East Londoner Miranda Card waved her 25-year-old daughter Anita
and grandson Waiiven goodbye in March 2002 as they flew off to a
what she hoped would be a fairytale life with Anita's
new husband.
Less then two months later her
daughter's body, riddled with 18
bullets, was found in her sister-in-law's
apartment in Chicago.
In March 2006 her husband,
William Spates was convicted of her murder and sentenced to 88
years in prison. Miranda is still trying find out what happened to
her grandson, who should be nine years old now, and her daughter's
body. "Up to now, we don't
know what they did with my daughter's
body because the courts in America refused to give it to us to
bury here in South Africa". A 2002 Daily Dispatch story
about the Card family's battle with the
United States courts said Waiiven was living in foster care at the
time because of the court's refusal to
release him to his grandmother and family in South Africa. Anyone
who can help this family can call Miranda Card on 072-0709991
or contact the Daily Dispatch on 043-7022084.
- Dispatch Online website
Image :
Dispatch Online |
EL gran fights for custody of baby in US - 12 July 2002
Dispatch Online website
SA 'too dangerous' for toddler - 22 October 2002
Waiiven Spates is not allowed to come home. He should rather be
placed in foster care in America than |
|
with his blood relatives in East London as circumstances in
South Africa are "perilous". This was the
ruling of an American judge earlier this month after damning
evidence by a former South African academic during the
two-year-old Waiiven's custody hearing.
Professor
Zene Magubane, formerly of the University of Cape Town and
currently attached to the University of Illinois, testified about
the many murders in East London, rampant Aids infection, problems
with the supply of textbooks and the chaotic education and welfare
system in the Eastern Cape. -
News24 website |
I didn't 'trash' SA : academic - 25 October 2002
News24 website
SA mule faces death in China - 28 April
A South
African drug mule is facing a death sentence in China after being
caught with 3kg of heroin. But Michael John McDermid's niece, who
led a national campaign to assist South Africans detained abroad,
after he was previously arrested for drug smuggling in Peru, has
washed her hands of him. He is imprisoned in the Beijing Detention
Centre, and could wait up to four years before being sentenced. -
IOL website
Keyphrases :
Drug smuggling
Friends/ Family of SA
Detainees Abroad (Fosada)
See also :
InfoUpdate no.7 of 2009. Drug mules
Rules of the tendering game - 30 April
The rate at which tenders have been challenged in South Africa has
increased dramatically over the past year. As a result, more
decisions across the country are being challenged on the tender
process as entities and tenderers are realising that there is
legal recourse to action. Bulelwa Khemese, director at Werksmans
Incorporating Jan S De Villiers, highlights the rules of tendering
for public companies putting work out to tender and entities
bidding on that tender. "The onus lies on the public body to make
sure that tender decisions are transparent, lawful and
procedurally fair. Public entities can expose themselves to legal
action if these requirements are not met",
continues Khemese. In a recent case, before the Supreme Court of
Appeal a company that was awarded the tender, completely relied on
the strength, competence and expertise of another entity, even
though the company that was awarded the tender, did not itself,
satisfy the requirements of that tender. -
Moneyweb website
See also :
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
29 November 2007
31/2007 [2007] ZASCA 165 ;
[2007] SCA 165 (RSA) ;
[2008] 2 All SA 145 ;
2008 (2) SA 481 ;
2008 (5) BCLR 508 ;
2008 (2) SA 481 (SCA)
Millennium Waste Management (Pty) Ltd v Chairperson of the Tender
Board : Limpopo Province and Others
Borrowers pay for past excesses - 26 April
For some time
now, auctions - which mirror events that shape and affect
economies - have been reflecting the excesses of a few years ago,
when many bought like crazy because banks lent like crazy. A lot
of that borrowed money was used to buy the distress merchandise
that's hitting the auction floors now, such as cars and properties
borrowers couldn't afford. Six hundred properties is only a
fraction of all the distressed properties that will come under the
hammer between now and the end of May. But even if all South
Africa's distressed property sales were added together,
they would illustrate how well South Africa's economy was
managed.
They would be insignificant compared with the US, for
example, where companies sell up to 5 000 houses at one auction,
and the City of London, where as many as 500 houses are auctioned
a day. Locally, not only property will
be auctioned, nor will it all be distressed merchandise.
An interesting development is that
auctioneers are using the tendering process. -
The Times website
Keyphrases :
Alliance Group
Aucor
Constantia Rock, Linda Street, Constantia Kloof, Roodepoort
Ellington Transport
Genesis Dyeing and Finishing
HB Auctioneers
Masingita Mining and Minerals of SA
MKB Property Development
Ngonyama Lion Lodge, Krugersdorp Game Reserve
Park Village Auctions
Peter Maskell Auctions
RubberLay
2010 :year of personal injury claims? - 29 April
South Africa must prepared for 2010 personal injury claims from
the estimated 10 million visitors to the country, an insurance
company said on Wednesday. Tourists will be coming from more
litigious countries, raising the risk of claims against businesses
catering to the tourist trade, said AIG South Africa in a
statement. - Business Report
website
Keyphrase :
2010 FIFA World Cup
Consumer Protection Bill
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Africa
Nigeria
Locking up
Nigeria's 'civil lunatics' - 29 April
The BBC's Andrew Walker visits a prison in the south-eastern
city of Enugu where some people who have not committed any crime are
locked up for years on end. These are people who have been taken to
court, either by the police or their families, and a magistrate has
jailed them - indefinitely, sometimes for life. Usually they have
committed no crime, or very minor ones that may not merit a
custodial sentence anywhere else in the world. But the colonial-era
law allows Nigerian courts to jail the mentally ill. Prisoners'
Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (Prawa) is an organisation working
to get "civil lunatics" released from Nigeria's jails. -
BBC News website
Somalia
Pirate update - [28 April]
Comprehensive coverage of developments. -
Australia.to website
Spanish
capture 'Somali pirates' - 27 April
Spanish forces have arrested nine Somalis suspected of being the
pirates who attacked an Italian cruise ship. The nine were
captured near the Seychelles and handed over to authorities there,
officials said. The Italian cruise ship, the Melody, was attacked
by a group of pirates in a speedboat in the area on Saturday. The
nine are the latest suspected pirates to be arrested by
international forces operating off the coast of Somalia. France
has charged three people with hijacking and false imprisonment
after a rescue operation involving a yacht in the Indian Ocean on
10 April. - BBC News website
Somali
vigilantes capture pirates - 28 April
Somali vigilantes have captured 12 armed pirates in two boats, as
coastal communities begin to fight back against the sea raiders.
Regional leaders at Alula and Bargaal in Somalia's northern
Puntland region told the BBC they have put together a
militia of fishermen to catch pirates. They decided to act as they
were fed up with their fishing vessels being seized at gunpoint by
the ocean-going bandits. - BBC
News website
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Asia
India
Mumbai
suspect is 'not a minor' - 28 April
The leading suspect in last November's deadly attacks in the
Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) is not under 18, the court trying
him has been told. A team of four doctors who examined Mohammad
Ajmal Amir Qasab told the court that he was over 20 years of age.
The court ordered bone and dental tests on Mr Qasab after his
lawyers said he should face trial in a juvenile court. Over 170
people, including nine gunmen, were killed in the attacks. Mr
Qasab is charged with waging war on India. He faces the death
penalty if convicted. - BBC News
website
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Europe
Agriculture
Who receives farm subsidies from the EU? - 28 April
Some of Europe's most closely guarded secrets must be revealed by
Thursday, when a deadline passes
for nations to make public the beneficiaries of the EU's generous
farm subsidies. Those harvesting the subsidies - a system that eats
up almost 40 percent of the EU's budget - among the 27 member
nations must be listed publicly on internet sites, along with the
amounts they earn. - Business
Report website
Competition
The European
Commission proposes actions to improve transparency, exchange of
information and fair tax competition - 28 April
The European Commission today has adopted a Communication
identifying actions that EU Member States should take to promote
"good governance" in the tax area (ie more transparency, exchange of
information and fair tax competition). The Communication identifies
how good governance could be improved within the EU. It also lists
the tools the EU and its Member States have at their disposal to
ensure that good governance principles are applied at international
level. Finally, it calls on Member States to adopt an approach that
is more coherent with good governance principles in their bilateral
relations with third countries and in international fora. The
Communication builds on the existing EU policy on good governance
and the recent G20 conclusions concerning uncooperative tax
jurisdictions. -
eGov Monitor website
The interface
between regulation and competition law : Neelie Kroes - 28 April
Regulation and competition policy are very close relatives. As you
probably all know relationships between close relatives can be quite
complicated. That is also the case with regulation and competition.
If the current financial and economic crisis has taught us anything,
it is that there is a high price to pay when regulation fails, and
that competition policy is essential for keeping our economy working
well. - eGov Monitor
website
Copyright
European Commission
welcomes Parliament vote on copyright term - 24 April
The Commission welcomes the European Parliament's endorsement of a
proposal to extend term of copyright protection for performers and
record producers from 50 to 70 years. The Commission is also pleased
that the Parliament's text has further strengthened the position of
performers by introducing a new claim for session players amounting
to 20% of record labels' offline and online sales revenue. According
to the proposal, performers can also recover their copyright after
50 years, should the producer fail to market the sound recording.
Finally, a newly introduced 'clean slate' would prevent record
producers from making deductions to the royalties they pay to
featured performers. - eGov
Monitor website
Finance
Credit Rating
Agencies : partially responsible for the current financial crisis
say MEPs - 24 April
Strict rules to improve transparency and independence of European
credit rating were endorsed by the European Parliament on Thursday
in Strasbourg when MEPs adopted a legislative report with 569 votes
in favour, 47 against and 4 abstentions. According to Members,
credit rating agencies failed to detect the worsening of the
financial market conditions and to adapt their ratings in time. They
also failed to adapt to the new risks of the credit market, eg
structured credit products (derivatives) and hedge funds. -
eGov Monitor website
Foreign Policy
Foreign policy
should be based on a principled approach to human rights - 28
April
Some governments take an active approach to human rights in their
foreign policies. Others are more cautious or even oppose what they
see as meddling into the internal affairs of others. My view is
that European governments should also pursue the values enshrined in
international treaties, including the European Convention on Human
Rights and the European Social Charter, in their external relations.
Article by By Thomas Hammarberg, Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights -
eGov Monitor website
France
France
sanctions 'sex case' judge - 24 April
An investigating judge at the centre of one of France's biggest
miscarriages of justice has been reprimanded by a panel looking
into his conduct. Fabrice Burgaud, 37, headed an inquiry in 2001
that led to 12 innocent people being imprisoned on paedophilia
charges, some for several years. Despite the reprimand issued to
Mr Burgaud being the lightest possible sanction, his lawyers plan
to appeal. They argue that he was made a scapegoat for a series of
flaws involving the police and the judicial system. -
BBC News website
Labour Issues
No agreement reached
on the Working Time Directive in European Parliament - 28 April
Parliament and Council could not find a compromise on three crucial
points : the opt-out, on-call time and multiple contracts. This is
the first time that no agreement could be reached at the
Conciliation stage since the entry into force of the Amsterdam
Treaty which significantly extended the scope of the codecision
procedure. - eGov Monitor
website
Land Affairs
All new buildings to
be zero energy from 2019 say MEP - 27 April
All buildings built after 31 December 2018 will have to produce as
much energy as they consume on-site, says the European Parliament,
amending the 2002 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
Parliament also wants Member States to set intermediate national
targets for existing buildings, ie to fix minimum percentages of
buildings that should be zero energy by 2015 and by 2020
respectively. - eGov Monitor
website
Reunion
Helicopter escape for cult leader - 27 April
A convicted sex offender and cult leader has escaped by
helicopter from a prison on the French Indian Ocean island of
Reunion, officials say. Juliano Verbard, 27, serving a 15-year
term, and two followers, Alexin Jismy and Fabrice Michel, were
pulled on to the helicopter |
Image :
AFP |
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by three
accomplices. The accomplices had pretended to
be tourists when boarding the helicopter, but then
forced the pilot to land in the prison grounds before flying
off. They then landed a few hundred metres away, and drove off
in a waiting van. At the time of his trial, psychiatrist
Gerard Toulfayan described Verbard as an "extremely powerful
manipulator with great intelligence". -
BBC News website |
Child rapist cult leader escapes jail in chopper - 27 April
Juliano Verbard, who was serving a 15-year term for rapes and
sex assaults on children, and two of his jailed followers were
hauled on board a chopper hijacked by three accomplices, senior
regional officials said. Verbard's flight was France's 11th
helicopter jailbreak since 1986, and is bound to revive
questions about security in its jails. Spectacular helicopter
escapes have become an embarrassment for French penal
authorities and, unlike Reunion's Domenjod, jails in mainland
France now often have protective nets over their exercise yards.
-
AFP on Google website
Switzerland
Naked
Swiss hikers must cover up - 27 April
The tiny Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden has voted to
prohibit the phenomenon of naked hiking.
Anyone found
wandering the Alps wearing nothing but a sturdy pair of hiking
boots will now be fined.
Meanwhile some Swiss
lawyers are describing Appenzell's decision to prohibit naked
hiking as akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
"I
estimate there are only around 20 to 25 naked hikers in the whole
of Switzerland," says lawyer Daniel Kettiger. "So really arresting
them and fining them is a bit silly. And our courts do have better
things to do".
What's more, Mr
Kettiger points out, Appenzell may have over-reached itself
legally in deciding to introduce a prohibition.
"The
Swiss parliament voted to remove public nudity from the penal code
in 1991," he explains. "So at a federal level, naked hiking is not
punishable, and Appenzell's laws are not higher than the federal
ones". - BBC
News website
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Middle East
Afghanistan
Karzai backs down over 'abhorrent'
marital rape law - 28 April
President Karzai bowed to international pressure yesterday by
promising to amend a new law condoning marital rape and child
marriage that provoked violent clashes in the Afghan capital. The
Shia Family Law,
signed by the Afghan President last month, appeared to reintroduce
the draconian policies of the Taleban era, such as a ban on
married women leaving their homes without their husbands’
permission. - Times Online
website
Afghan women's law highlights rift - 27 April
Critics say the reason President Karzai signed the legislation
last month was to shore up support among conservative clerics
ahead of this summer's presidential election. On Sunday, women
activists said he had told them he signed it without reading it
properly. The issue highlights not only the divisions in Afghan
society but challenges Western expectations. -
BBC News website
Israel
Is
Israel heading for clash with US? - 28 April
It is Israel's Independence Day - traditionally time for leading
Israeli politicians to give big interviews about their country's
past and future. Israel's new Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, has remained conspicuously tight-lipped. In a region
where sparks can fly and wars can start without too much
warning, Mr Netanyahu's spokesmen have announced the world view
of this new Israeli government will only be revealed around 18
May. This is when Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to meet US President
Barack Obama in Washington. -
BBC News website
Palestine
Palestinian handed death sentence - 29 April
A Palestinian military court has condemned a man to death by
hanging for treason for selling land to Israelis. Anwar Breghit,
59, was convicted by a court in the West Bank town of Hebron. He
sold property near his village "that he did not own",
prosecutors said. Correspondents say the sentence, which has to
be approved by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is
not expected to be carried out. The Palestinian leader has
withheld his approval in several similar cases. -
BBC News website
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United Kingdom
Accounting
Auditors plead for help amid fear of lawsuits - 27 April
Leading accountants will meet the Government this week to plead for
protection as they prepare for a surge in litigation from investors
trying to recover their losses from big company failures. The Big
Four - Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) - are braced for an increase in legal action from investors
and liquidators as the economic crisis continues. -
Times Online
website
Company Law
New proposals to
give companies breathing space - 27 April
Large and medium-sized companies facing difficulties could receive
additional help under proposed changes to insolvency laws announced
in the Budget this week. -
eGov Monitor website
Courts
Case studies : family courts - 28 April
The rudimentary "Press"
sign, stuck with Blu-Tack on the door of what moments before was
an interview room, indicated that the officials at Ipswich County
Court were not used to such intrusions. One looked shocked when
told that The Times had entered the building, and security
guards insisted that the press keep identification cards visible
at all times and await court hearings in segregation from the
various parties. The establishment recovered quickly, however.
Within 45 minutes the flimsy "Press"
sign had been replaced with a smarter, laminated version, and The
Times was granted access to a care order hearing without any
disruptions or objections from the various legal parties. It was
only at the lunchtime recess that Judge Peter Thompson
acknowledged the press in the courtroom. He emphasised that the
normal reporting restrictions applying to the anonymity of
children in the case still stood, but said nothing further about
the new legislation and imposed no further restrictions. -
Times Online
website
Courts given
greater power to tackle youth crime - 27 April
From Monday, courts will be able to force more young offenders to
face the consequences of their crimes as changes to the law come
into effect, Justice Minister David Hanson and Minister for
Children Beverley Hughes announced today. Building on the success
of the current sentence, courts will now be able to issue Referral
Orders with greater frequency to punish youth offenders for their
crimes and help discourage reoffending by requiring them to make
amends to their victim as well as the community they have
blighted. Referral Orders require young offenders to answer for
their actions and make amends to their victims by attending a
youth offender panel of community volunteers which can demand
criminal damage be repaired and costs be repaid. They also allow
courts to impose curfews, demand offenders stay away from
specified places or people and enforce attendance at anger
management courses. - eGov
Monitor website
Lawyer of the Week : Jo Pizzala - 30 April
Jo Pizzala, a partner in Plexus Law, acted for the Royal Bank of
Scotland Insurance in its private prosecution for contempt of
court against Joanne Kirk for making false statements in a claim
for damages from a road traffic accident. The High Court, in a
landmark ruling on fraudulent personal injury claims, ordered Kirk
to pay her legal costs of £125 000, a £2
500 fine, the insurer's legal
costs in the main action from 2005 and half the legal costs in the
contempt proceedings. -
Times Online
website
Murder
conviction appeal rejected - 27 April
A man has lost his appeal against his conviction for the murder of
his wife at their home in Co Meath more than four years ago. The
three judge Court of Criminal Appeal today dismissed Anton Mulder's
appeal against his conviction in January 2008. Mulder (47), with
an address at Maelduin, Dunshaughlin, who is originally from
Durban, South Africa, was jailed for life. His wife, a native of
Bangor, Co Down, was found strangled to death in an upstairs
bedroom of the house they were renting on December 17th, 2004. In
his appeal, Mulder argued the trial judge had wrongly excluded as
not relevant evidence from a psychiatrist who had treated Mulder
after objections by the prosecution. It was argued that decision
had damaged Mulder's defence of
diminished responsibility and rendered the conviction unsafe. -
Irish Times website
New appeal for Lockerbie bomber - 27 April
The Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is to begin a second
appeal against his conviction for blowing up a Pan Am flight 21
years ago. Lawyers for Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who has prostate
cancer, said judges at his trial heard insufficient evidence to
convict him beyond reasonable doubt. -
BBC News website
Criminal Justice
System
New measures to
give communities more say in justice - 30 April
A range of new measures that gives communities more say in the way
justice is delivered in their neighbourhoods as well as making
local criminal justice agencies more accountable to the people
they represent has today been announced by ministers. This will
include pioneering a new package of measures in 30 areas across
England and Wales to test a range of initiatives that will deliver
justice for all and put people back at the heart of the justice
system. The areas identified sit within
: Greater London, Merseyside, South Wales, Leicestershire,
Cheshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, West
Midlands, Cleveland, Humberside, Nottingham and Greater
Manchester. Justice Secretary Jack Straw has also launched a
prototype of the first justice website to give local sentencing
information in one place to ensure people have the chance to see
how justice is being effected in their communities. -
eGov Monitor website
See also :
Engaging
Communities in Criminal Justice Green Paper
Criminal Justice
System. Consultations website
Family Law
Why the CSA must target parents who avoid maintenance - 30
April
Much has been written about the tougher line being taken to
recover money due for the care of children. Measures in the
Welfare Reform Bill, which received its second reading in the
Lords yesterday, would allow the Child Maintenance and Enforcement
Commission to suspend the driving licences and passports of
persistent non-payers. The Magistrate -
house journal of the bench - has joined
the chorus, warning that ". . . such
serious deprivations of liberty should only be imposed at a court
hearing and not by an administrative decision".
- Times Online
website
Judge uses poet Philip Larkin's words to warn acrimonious couple
- 29 April
One of Britain's most senior family court judges borrowed the
stark words of poet Philip Larkin to warn an acrimonious couple
that they were "within a whisker" of losing their child. The
couple - who met in South Africa and married in 2002 - have been
at war over their child since they divorced in 2003. Previous
hearings have been told how the 37-year-old English father tried
to gain custody of the boy - known only as CR - on several
occasion as well as access, but both were rejected by the South
African mother. After years of conflict, Luton County Court ruled
that the boy should no longer stay with his mother and live
instead with his paternal grandparents. Judge Everall QC decided
it was no longer possible for the parents and the boy to work
together. Sitting at the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Wall
reversed the decision but warned both parents how close they had
come to losing their child. He urged the couple to call a truce,
for the sake of CR, who had been "undoubtedly caused serious harm
by their ongoing, mutual dislike and recriminations". Lord Justice
Wall ruled that the mother would have custody of CR and the father
would be allowed contact to try and repair some of the emotional
damage that had been done. -
Telegraph website
Wealthy estate agent asks High Court to rule South African
marriage void - 24 April
Robert Leigh, 49, and Gillian Hudson, 43, had a priest conduct a
service for them after Mr Leigh proposed to his girlfriend in
South Africa in January 2004, and had planned to have a civil
marriage service when they returned to Britain. The pair, who have
a seven-year-old daughter together, sent out invitations to the
second service, at Chiswick House in West London, the following
March, but their relationship broke down before it took place.
Gillian Hudson filed for a divorce, but Mr Leigh denied that they
were ever married. She is now seeking a ruling from the High
Court's Family Division, which would determine how the couple
divide up their assets. Mr Leigh's divorce lawyer Nicholas Mostyn
QC, told the judge : "Lying behind this
dispute is of course money". -
Telegraph website
Rich estate agent asks judge to declare African wedding 'void'
after wife files for divorce - 24 April
Ms Hudson agreed with Mr Mostyn that both she and Mr Leigh had
agreed to leave out the words 'no just impediment', 'your lawful
wife' and 'your lawful husband' from the ceremony on the roof of
their home in Cape Town. But the regular churchgoer said: 'From my
point of view I believed I was getting married before God'.
- Mail Online website
Judiciary
Quotas could be introduced for judges to increase ethnic
minorities and women - 28 April
Baroness Julia Neuberger said she wanted to remove "blockages"
faced by some applicants for judicial posts and make judges more
representative of society. The Liberal Democrat peer will chair a
panel of advisers selected by Lord Chancellor Jack Straw to
propose ways to speed up the appointment of judges who are not
white men and said she had not ruled out considering quotas. such
a move would put her at loggerheads with the Lord Chief Justice,
Lord Judge, who just last month rejected the idea, saying he
wanted judges to be appointed on "merit" alone. His concerns were
last night echoed by the
Law Society which said other work should be done to
encourage more suitable applicants. -
Telegraph website
Privacy
Plan to monitor all internet use - 27 April
Communications firms are being asked to record all internet
contacts between people as part of a modernisation in UK police
surveillance tactics. The home secretary scrapped plans for a
database but wants details to be held and organised for security
services. The new system would track all e-mails, phone calls and
internet use, including visits to social network sites. -
BBC News website
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United States, Canada and South
America
Bolivia and Paraguay
Bolivia
and Paraguay agree border - 28 April
Bolivia and Paraguay have signed an agreement settling a border
dispute, which led to a bitter war in the 1930s. Bolivian
President Evo Morales, who signed the pact in Buenos Aires with
Paraguayan counterpart Fernando Lugo, described it as historic.
Argentina has played a key role in resolving the dispute. Mr
Morales blamed multi-national oil firms - in their quest for
natural resources - for fuelling the Chaco war, which claimed 100
000 lives. The key energy companies operating in the region at the
time were US Standard Oil, backed by Bolivia, and the Anglo-Dutch
Shell Oil company, supported by Paraguay. -
BBC News website
Canada
Government of Canada
introduces legislation
to strengthen accountability
for political loans
- 29 April
The Hon Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Democratic Reform),
today announced the introduction of legislation amending the Canada
Elections Act to strengthen accountability with respect to political
loans. The legislation is an important part of the Government’s
agenda to strengthen accountability and democracy in Canada. -
eGov Monitor website
See also :
South Africa. Politics above
More Canadians
continue working through Work-Sharing - 29 April
Canada's Economic Action Plan is
strengthening benefits for Canadian workers by extending and easing
access to Work-Sharing agreements so more Canadians can continue
working while companies experience a temporary slowdown.
Work-Sharing, an element of the Employment Insurance (EI) program,
can be instrumental in assisting businesses experiencing a temporary
slowdown caused by factors beyond their control. It is designed to
avoid layoffs by offering EI income benefits to qualifying workers
willing to work a reduced work-week while their employer recovers. -
eGov Monitor website
See also :
Canada's
Economic Action Plan website
Courts
Accounting director accused of embezzling $550K - 28 April
An accounting director is expected to plead guilty to embezzling
more than $550 000 from his former employers, a District nonprofit
and a trade association, according to court documents. Charles
Joseph Clifton was hired by the American Society of International
Law in late 2004, after spending six years as an accountant for the
American Bakers Association. Clifton is accused of embezzling about
$445 000 from the law society and $145 000 from the bakers
association. Clifton was fired from the international law society in
November for an unrelated issue, Elizabeth Anderson, the society's
executive director, told The Examiner. Anderson said the society
discovered the evidence of the embezzlement through internal reviews
"immediately after he was fired".
- Washington Examiner
website
See also :
American Society of International Law
website
Excerpt :
"The
Society's 4 000 members from nearly 100
nations include attorneys, academics, corporate counsel, judges,
representatives of governments and nongovernmental organizations,
international civil servants, students and others interested in
international law"
Not
guilty plea in Travolta case - 29 April
A former
senator and a paramedic have pleaded not guilty to charges of
attempting to extort $25m (£16,9m) from Hollywood actor John
Travolta. Pleasant Bridgewater and medic Tarino Lightbourne are
accused of demanding money from the star after his son Jett died in
the Bahamas in January. They allegedly demanded cash in return for
keeping secret a document relating to the 16-year-old's treatment.
Ms Bridgewater resigned her seat on the Bahamas senate after she was
arrested in January. She continues to work as a lawyer on the
islands. -
BBC News website
Finance
Madoff victim's could get double compensation - 28 April
A trustee overseeing the liquidation of Wall Street swindler
Bernard Madoff's assets has announced a winning bid of potentially
more than $25 million for the securities-trading operation he ran.
Irving Picard says Boston-based Castor Pollux Securities will pay
$1 million at closing and up to $24.5 million in deferred
compensation through 2013. Monday's winning bid nearly doubles the
company's original offer. -
Business Report website
Legislation
House passes hate crimes bill - 29 April
The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday expanding
federal protection against hate crimes to disability, gender, and
sexual orientation. The bill, which was approved by a margin of
249-175, passed in a sharply-divided partisan vote. An overwhelming
majority of Democrats supported the measure, while most Republicans
were opposed. The proposal, which now moves to the Senate for
further consideration, is one of the most sensitive civil rights
issues to come before the Congress in years. Currently, federal law
covers only a person's race, religion, or national origin. -
CNN website
High court weighs changes to landmark civil rights law - 29
April
The US Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday while debating
whether to invalidate key parts of the landmark
Voting Rights Act
protecting the rights of minorities at the ballot box. At issue is a
provision of the law that requires the Justice Department to
preapprove any changes to voting districts, polling locations or
election procedures in nine southern states which have significant
African-American populations. Such oversight is required only in
isolated districts of seven other US states. The Voting Rights Act
was first approved in 1965 with key provisions added in 1982.
Congress in 2006 overwhelmingly reauthorized the bill for another 25
years. Critics say the election last year of Barack Obama, the first
African-American US president, is evidence that the law is obsolete.
Supporters point to what they consider the deep-seated nature of
racial discrimination in US society - a position that seemed to
resonate with Justice David Souter. -
AFP on Google website
Media
US TV
swearing policy 'correct' - 28 April
The US government's policy of fining broadcasters over the use of
even a single swear word on live TV is justified, the Supreme Court
has ruled. - BBC News website
Miscellaneous
Aerosmith play for unhappy fans - 27 April
Rock stars Aerosmith are to hold a free concert in Hawaii to
placate angry fans who brought a legal case against them. The
group cancelled a sold-out show in Maui two years ago, leaving
hundreds of fans out of pocket. They filed a class action case,
which claimed the band had pulled out in favour of a bigger gig in
Chicago and a private show for car dealers in Oahu. Lawyers for
the would-be concert-goers said Aerosmith had now agreed to put on
a new show, and would pay all expenses. -
BBC News website
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International
Foreign Policy
Why search
for a new nuclear treaty? - 24 April
US and Russian officials have been holding talks in Rome as they
begin work on a new nuclear weapons treaty. BBC diplomatic
correspondent Jonathan Marcus looks at why they might want one. -
BBC News website
Health
'Too
late' to contain swine flu - 28 April
The swine flu virus first detected in Mexico can no longer be
contained and countries should focus on mitigating its effects, a
top UN official said. World Health Organization deputy chief Keiji
Fukuda was speaking as the WHO raised its alert level to four, or
two steps short of a full pandemic. The US, Canada, Spain and
Britain have confirmed cases of the virus, but not deaths have
been reported outside Mexico. -
BBC News website
World battles swine flu as death toll rises - 28 April
By early Tuesday, the swine flu outbreak in Mexico was suspected
in 152 deaths and more than 1 600
illnesses, its health minister told reporters. So far, at least
87 cases have been confirmed in other countries, including 40 in
the United States ; six in Canada
; three in New Zealand ; two in
Spain ; and one in Israel. None has
yet resulted in death. With at least 12 nations including Mexico
suspecting infections, the World Health Organization on Monday
raised its alert level from three to four on its six-level
scale. - CNN website
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United Nations
Durban Review
Conference [Against Racism]
The Durban Declaration and
Programme of Action
http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/ddpa.shtml
Outcome document of
the Durban Review Conference
http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/pdf/Durban_Review_outcome_document_En.pdf
Anti Racism report
adopted despite disinformation campaign says UN Rights Chief -
27 April
At the close of the Durban Review Conference, 182 countries were
able to come together on an anti-racism report despite a
highly-organized "campaign of
disinformation" the United Nations human
rights chief said today. The draft outcome adopted by consensus
this Tuesday is a "good document",
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said as the
gathering, assessing progress on the implementation of the Durban
Declaration and Programme of Action, wrapped up in Geneva. -
eGov Monitor website
UN
racism event highlights divisions - 24 April
The UN has now held two world conferences on racism and both have
been dominated by confrontations over Israel, raising serious
questions about whether a high-profile international gathering is
the best way to tackle the problem. -
BBC News website
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Miscellaneous E-Things
Policing
the dark side of the net - 24 April
The BBC goes behind the scenes at the Internet Watch Foundation to
see how its researchers cope with the psychologically demanding job
of policing sites peddling images of child abuse. -
BBC News website
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