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Friday
19 March
The
KwaZulu-Natal Land Claims Commission will host five
land restoration ceremonies in which it HANDS
OVER 33 536HA WORTH OVER R70M THIS MONTH.
The claims cover areas near Jozini on the North
Coast and Vryheid, Newcastle in the north and Eshowe
in the Midlands (News24 2004-03-15).
Europe
A coalition of anti-Microsoft companies applauded
the European Commission's announcement on Thursday
that IT
WILL PUNISH THE US SOFTWARE GIANT FOR UNFAIRLY
CRUSHING COMPETITORS
(Finance24 2004-03-18).
Thursday
18 March
The
SUPREME
COURT OF APPEAL IN BLOEMFONTEIN TODAY DISMISSED A
LAND CLAIM BY THE FORMER RESIDENTS OF THE LOHATLA
MILITARY TRAINING AREA
in the Northern Cape. The residents want the land to
be returned to them. The court found it was in the
public interest that the Army Battle School remain
at Lohatla (SABC News 2004-03-18). The Lohatla
communities of the Northern Cape, who had their land
claim dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal
today, are PURSUING
OTHER LEGAL OPTIONS
(SABC News 2004-03-18).
Brian
Kew, a conveyancer at Werksmans in Johannesburg,
says THE
PUBLIC THINKS THE REGISTRATION OF A PROPERTY IS A
SIMPLE PROCEDURE
and the fees earned by him and other conveyancers
are unjustified (Business Day 2004-03-17).
A
confidence trickster who conned victims to the tune
of R95 000 has to COMPENSATE
THEM IN TERMS OF A UNIQUE PLEA BARGAIN
presented in the Cape Magistrate's Court on
Wednesday (News24 2004-03-18).
Africa
The delicate topic of SHARING
THE NILE'S WATER
is coming under discussion this week in Kenya, at a
meeting to find ways of alleviating poverty in
countries that lie within the Nile basin. The Nile
and its tributaries cross 10 states : Burundi, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
According to the NBI, four of these countries are
amongst the world’s 10 poorest states, a problem
that could be addressed by introducing agricultural
projects (M&G 2004-03-18).
Israel
Israel's Supreme Court has imposed an open-ended FREEZE
ON CONSTRUCTION OF A 25KM SECTION OF THE COUNTRY'S
CONTENTIOUS WEST BANK SEPARATION BARRIER,
a lawyer in the case said on Thursday (News24
2004-03-18).
France
A French motorist has been given a three-month
suspended prison sentence for doing his level best
to RUN
OVER A PEDESTRIAN HE MISTAKENLY IDENTIFIED AS OSAMA
BIN LADEN
(M&G 2004-03-18).
Wednesday
17 March
The
Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETAS)
HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR RENEWAL
CERTIFICATES OF ESTABLISHMENT
as required by the Skills Development Amendment Act
(SA Government Online 2004-03-16).
An
intervention strategy is being consolidated to HELP
MUNICIPALITIES RECOUP ABOUT R26 BILLION OWED TO THEM.
The money is owed by the private sector, households
and government departments (SABC News
2004-03-16). The Local Government MINMEC,
consisting of Provincial and Local Government
Minister Sydney Mufamadi, Deputy Minister Ntombazana
Botha, nine MECs responsible for local government
and the South African Local Government Association
(Salga) wrapped up its work today by discussing a
status report on local government transformation -
see the MEDIA
RELEASE
(SA Government Online 2004-03-17).
United
States
Last
week UTAH
PROSECUTORS CHARGED A WOMAN WITH MURDER FOR FAILING
TO UNDERGO A CAESAREAN SECTION DELIVERY,
a failure that allegedly resulted in the death of
one of her unborn twins. Prosecutors have suggested
that the reason the woman refused the procedure was
her desire to avoid an abdominal scar. Ultimately,
this prosecution raises a very simple question : are
we, as a society, prepared to demand more of
pregnant women than of anyone else? (FindLaw
2004-03-16).
Tuesday
16 March
Businesses
and individuals who feel they are treated unfairly
or unreasonably by a credit grantor or credit bureau
now have a defender of their cause in the form of
the CREDIT
INFORMATION OMBUD
(Business Report 2004-03-15). The daily news
briefing from the ANC stated that the office of the
Credit Information Ombudsman (CIO) will be LAUNCHED
ON FRIDAY
to resolve disputes between consumers and credit
grantors over credit bureau listings (ANC
2004-03-15).
United
Kingdom
PLANS
TO KEEP IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM CLAIMS OUT OF THE
COURTS WERE ABANDONED
last night when Lord Falconer, the Constitution
Secretary, said the Government would not be going
ahead with moves that had been criticised for
breaching the rule of law (Telegraph 2004-03-16). PLANS
TO DENY ASYLUM SEEKERS THE RIGHT OF A COURT APPEAL
IF THEIR CLAIMS ARE REJECTED HAVE BEEN DROPPED
by the government amid fierce opposition (BBC News
2004-03-15).
ROUND-THE-CLOCK
DRINKING WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM NEXT YEAR
now that officials have confirmed that the
Government is pressing ahead with the implementation
of the Licensing Act 2003 which will allow pubs to
open all day in some cases (Telegraph 2004-03-16).
Though
the public has frequently called for Trafalgar
Square to be used for STATUES
OF FAMOUS FIGURES
such as the Queen Mother, Nelson Mandela, or even
George Orwell, the Department for Culture and the
Mayor decided in favour of contemporary art
(Telegraph 2004-03-16).
Canada
A recent copyright ruling by the Supreme Court of
Canada could have LASTING
IMPLICATIONS ON SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
and related research, according to one industry
expert (IT Business 2004-03-15).
Monday
15 March
Government
is to release A
NEW CONSUMER CREDIT POLICY FRAMEWORK
in the next few months, launching the accompanying
legislation before year-end (Sunday Times
2004-03-14).
A
member of a Potchefstroom syndicate that DEFRAUDED
THE ROAD ACCIDENT FUND OF R3M
sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday (News24
2004-03-15).
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