|
Friday 23 April
The
ROYAL
NATAL NATIONAL PARK HOTEL
has become a ruin since its closure in April 2000.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife hopes to put the project out
to tender in the next few months. "We are ready
to tender," says the Eco-Tourism Property
Manager, "but there has been a change to the
Treasury Act, Section 16. This stipulates we have to
employ a transaction adviser - we can't run the
process ourselves - we have budgeted for one and,
once those budgets are confirmed we can employ a
transaction adviser to run the process"
(Witness 2004-04-21).
The
European Commission announced plans on Thursday to INVEST
OVER $273M IN TRANSPORT AND INTERNET ACCESS FOR POOR
AFRICAN NATIONS
(News24 2004-04-22).
SMSOS
is described as "the panic and tracking button
on your cellphone". Visit http://www.smsos.co.za/
for details.
Zimbabwe
The
current economic hardships have FORCED
A SIZEABLE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO DISPENSE WITH THE USE
OF LAWYERS
or adopt cheaper methods of protecting and enforcing
their rights. The legal charges by lawyers have
skyrocketed, thereby leaving only those individuals
and organisations in need of crucial legal services
managing to consult legal experts
(Financial Gazette 2004-04-23).
Belgium
The
European Union was accused of using "police
state tactics" to stifle criticism after police
raided the offices of a Brussels journalist and
seized a vast archive of DOCUMENTS
IDENTIFYING HIS SOURCES
(Telegraph 2004-04-22).
United
Kingdom
On 5 April, Cathy Jamieson the justice minister,
published a new consultation document entitled
"Family Matters: Improving Family Law in
Scotland". Among a raft of PROPOSALS
TO BRING THE LAW RELATING TO FAMILIES IN SCOTLAND IN
LIEN WITH MODERN SOCIETY AND MORES,
are plans for the so-called "quickie
divorce" (Scotsman 2004-04-23).
United
States
BEING
WHITE IS NOT GROUNDS FOR A COUPLE FROM SOUTH AFRICA
TO GAIN ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES,
a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday (News24
2004-04-23).
Over
the past few years, the Bush Administration has
aggressively pushed the limits of its executive
authority. But that is a statement of fact, not a
conclusion about the constitutionality of those
actions. Now,
THE
ADMINISTRATION'S FORCEFUL TACTICS ARE BEING
CHALLENGED AND REVIEWED ON SEVERAL FRONTS
- a sign that the US Constitution is alive and well.
In two high-profile Supreme Court cases, the Supreme
Court will decide whether or not actions taken have
been constitutional, and the Administration will
doubtless abide by its decision. Meanwhile,
Administration actions are also being assessed by a
different type of review board - the 9/11
Commission. There, the Administration is having to
defend its decisions immediately preceding and
following 9/11 - with probing questions raised about
its views of Saddam Hussein, and the necessity of
going to war with Iraq (FindLaw 2004-04-22).
-------------------------------------------------------
Thursday 22 April
Government officials
are expected to have a NEW
DRAFT BUSINESS RESCUE BILL
ready by the middle of next month, a move aimed at
pulling ailing companies back from the brink rather
than pushing them over. This is one of a series of
changes made by state law adviser Enver Daniels
aimed at cleaning up a liquidation industry peppered
with claims of corruption (Business Day 2004-04-22).
The Independent Democrats and the Vienna-based
International Press Institute (IPI) added their
voices on Wednesday to those CONDEMNING
PARLIAMENT'S MOVES TO EVICT THE MEDIA FROM THEIR
OFFICES in
the institution (M&G 2004-04-22).
"Parliamentary reporters have long resisted the
secretary's plan to move us out of the Parliamentary
buildings to an unsafe building outside the
immediate precincts, and WE
CONTINUE TO OPPOSE SUCH A MOVE
as it will seriously hamper our work," the PGA
said in a statement earlier this week (M&G
2004-04-21).
Namibia
EXPROPRIATION
WILL BE USED TO PUNISH FARMERS WHO EVICT AND DUMP
WORKERS
even though poor labour relations are not official
criteria for the latest move in Namibia's land
reform, says Government (The Namibian 2004-04-20).
Zimbabwe
Students at Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo,
who have been boycotting classes since last week in
protest against an increase in tuition fees, have
also demanded that the UNIVERSITY
AUTHORITIES COMPLY IMMEDIATELY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS
OF THE COUNCIL FOR LEGAL EDUCATION
for the institution’s law degree to be recognised
by the Law Society of Zimbabwe (The Herald
2004-04-21).
United
Kingdom
The LAW
SOCIETY IS IN TALKS TO ABANDON ITS DUAL ROLES AS
WATCHDOG AND TRADE UNION TO THE PROFESSION
in a radical policy shift that would see Chancery
Lane accept that it should be split into two
separate bodies (Legal Week 2004-04-21).
A
wealthy businessman whose marriage was in trouble OFFERED
$1 MILLION TO BUY THE WIFE OF A CLOSE FRIEND
in a bizarre deal reminiscent of the Hollywood film
Indecent Proposal, it was claimed in the High Court
yesterday (Telegraph 2004-04-22).
United
States
An
"abortion" versus a "procedure."
A "baby" versus a "pregnancy."
"Dismembered" versus
"disarticulated." In the three federal
courtrooms where a CONTROVERSIAL
ABORTION METHOD HAS BEEN ON TRIAL,
the gulf between the two sides is so wide that they
cannot agree on basic terminology (FindLaw
2004-04-21).
INTERNET-CONNECTED
COMPUTERS ARE CLEARLY BRINGING MORE PEOPLE INTO
LIBRARIES.
A year after computers are put in libraries that do
not have them, visits rise 30 percent on the average
and attendance typically remains higher, according
to a study (New York Times 2004-04-21).
-------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday 21 April
In
a new form of insurance fraud, it has emerged that HOSPITAL
STAFF HAVE TAKEN OUT POLICIES ON THE LIVES OF
TERMINALLY ILL PATIENTS TO WHOM THEY ARE NOT RELATED.
Peet Nienaber, the ombudsman for long-term insurance
in Cape Town, said in his annual report that several
cases referred to him point to this trend. "In
some cases the insured person colluded. There are
even cases where supporting information is written
on hospital notepaper. These letters are seldom
signed" (Witness 2004-04-21).
In
a move that has called into question the freedom of
journalists to report on proceedings within its two
Houses, PARLIAMENT
HAS THREATENED TO EVICT MEDIA ORGANISATIONS FROM
THEIR OFFICES WITHIN THE PARLIAMENTARY PRECINCT.
The threat came in the form of a letter to the
Parliamentary Press Gallery Association (PGA) in
which Secretary to Parliament Sindiso Mfenyana said
the offices had to be vacated by noon on Friday.
"Should you fail to vacate the offices as
stated above, the state attorney will be instructed
to apply to the High Court for an eviction order
without further notice or delay," the letter
states (M&G 2004-04-21).
Researchers have
set a DATA
TRANSMISSION RECORD OVER THE INTERNET2'S HIGH-SPEED
BACKBONE.
The record, announced Tuesday at the Spring 2004
Internet2 member meeting in Arlington, Va, was for
transmitting data over nearly 11 000 kilometers at
an average speed of 6.25 gigabits per second. This
is nearly 10 000 times faster than a typical home
broadband connection. The network link used to set
the record reaches from Los Angeles to Geneva,
Switzerland (CNet News 2004-04-20). United
Kingdom
More than 70% of people
would REVEAL
THEIR COMPUTER PASSWORD IN EXCHANGE FOR A BAR OF
CHOCOLATE,
a survey has found. It
also showed that 34% of respondents volunteered
their password when asked without even needing to be
bribed. A second survey found that 79% of people
unwittingly gave away information that could be used
to steal their identity when questioned (BBC News
2004-04-20).
A City secretary faces up to 10 years in prison
after being found guilty yesterday of stealing £4.5
million from her bosses at the investment bank
Goldman Sachs. De-Laurey insisted that TWO
GOLDMAN SACHS BANKERS ALLOWED HER TO HELP HERSELF TO
THEIR FORTUNES AS A REWARD FOR HER BRILLIANT
ORGANISATION OF THEIR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
LIVES
despite their absolute denial of such generosity
(Telegraph 2004-02-21).
| United
States |
NY
Times |
The
Supreme Court appeared distinctly unreceptive
Tuesday to the Bush administration's argument
that the federal courthouse doors must remain
closed to the foreign detainees at the Guantánamo
Bay naval base in Cuba. In
the first of three |
cases
this month on THE
RIGHT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW OF THOSE DEEMED ENEMY
COMBATANTS,
most justices seemed to regard the World War
II-era precedent that is the cornerstone of
the administration's strategy as ambiguous,
irrelevant or even counter to the
administration's position (New York Times
2004-04-21).
US
SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ON TUESDAY SHARPLY
QUESTIONED THE ADMINISTRATION'S DETENTION OF
ENEMY COMBATANTS
at what their lawyer termed a "lawless
enclave" at Guantanamo Bay without access
to the courts, in the first big legal test of
the war on terrorism (FindLaw 2004-04-21). |
A
United States legal counsel who interrogated former
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein said "he STILL
THINKS HE IS THE PRESIDENT OF IRAQ"
(News24 2004-04-21).
-------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday 20 April
A
man believed to be a LIBYAN
NATIONAL WITH ALLEGED LINKS TO AL-QAEDA
appeared in the Pretoria magistrate's court on
Tuesday for extradition proceedings. Police
spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said the case
was postponed to June 30 and Ibrahim Ali Abubakar
Tantoush was freed on R8 000 bail (News24
2004-04-20).
The
Mpumalanga premier's son-in-law was sentenced in the
Johannesburg regional court on Tuesday to an EFFECTIVE
EIGHT YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR ASSAULTING HIS WIFE.
The magistrate described it as "a very violent
crime on a defenceless woman who will never be able
to walk in normally again" (News24 2004-04-20).
The
National Council of the Societies for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) has condemned advice
given by a contributor of the South African
Gardening magazine on how to get rid of cats in
the garden which it considers a VIOLATION
OF THE ANIMALS PROTECTION ACT
No 71 of 1962, Section 2.1 (News24 2004-04-20).
The
SOUTH
AFRICAN RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MARKET HAS OUTPERFORMED
THAT OF FIRST-WORLD COUNTRIES,
with the highest nominal growth rate over the past
12 months, according to real estate portal
ResearchWorldwide.com (Business Day 2004-04-20).
The
National Road Agency (NRA) is facing a POSSIBLE
LAWSUIT BY 22 FAMLIES WHO HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO
AMBUSH GANGS ON THE N1 HIGHWAY
between Johannesburg and Vanderbijlpark (News24
2004-04-).
The
HEALTH
DEPARTMENT HAS UNTIL TUESDAY AFTERNOON TO DECIDE IF
IT WILL POSTPONE THE MAY 2 DEADLINE FOR DISPENSING
LICENCES FOR DOCTORS.
If this deadline is not moved, the National
Convention on Dispensing (NCD) will consider
applying for an urgent interdict to postpone the
timeframe by six to 12 months (Witness 2004-04-20).
The National Convention on Dispensing (NCD)
expressed concern on Monday that MEDICAL
AIDS COULD REVUSE TO COVER CLAIMS FOR MEDICATION
DISPENSED BY DOCTORS WHO WILL NOT HAVE LICENCES TO
DO THIS
by the May 2 deadline (The Mercury 2004-04-20).
President
Thabo Mbeki has appointed Constitutional Court judge
Dikgang Moseneke as CHAIRMAN
OF THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION FOR THE REMUNERATION
OF POLITICAL OFFICE-BEARERS.
In a statement, the presidency said Moseneke's
appointment was effective from April 1 (Business Day
2004-04-20).
The
hundreds of human skeletons found in mass graves
during building in Prestwich Street, Cape Town, are
to be moved tomorrow from Napier House to the
"more dignified" Woodstock Day hospital,
where the bones will be stored in a formal mortuary.
The BONES
WERE FOUND
in May last year when the area at the Prestwich and
Alfred Street intersection, was cleared for a
housing development (Cape Times 2004-04-20).
The
closely guarded REPUTATION
OF ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL WAS LEFT IN TATTERS ON TUESDAY
as British newspapers accused the oil giant of lies
and a cover-up after an explosive internal report
admitted executives knew of problems with reserves
over two years ago (News24 2004-04-20).
The
Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies has released
the EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY AND PROPOSED REMEDIAL MEASURES
sections from the report to the Group Audit
Committee into the facts and circumstances
surrounding the recategorisation of the Group’s
hydrocarbon reserves (Shell 2004-04-19).
The former top executive and his deputy at Royal
Dutch/Shell Group feuded bitterly over HOW
TO HANDLE EVIDENCE THE OIL GIANT HAD GREATLY
EXAGGERATED ITS OIL AND NATURAL GAS RESERVES,
even as they both acted to keep a lid on the
information, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported,
citing documents revealed during an internal
investigation (Quicken 2004-04-20).
Shell promised to ACCELERATE
ITS REVIEW INTO ITS CONTROVERSIAL DUAL COMPANY
STRUCTURE
yesterday as part of a series of initiatives aimed
at restoring confidence in the scandal-hit oil group
(Guardian Unlimited 2004-04-20). See the
Guardian' special Oil and Petrol report at http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/0,11319,608464,00.html.
A TENSE
AND AT TIMES HOSTILE RELATIONSHIP
between the two most powerful executives of the
Royal Dutch/Shell Group caused the company to wait
almost two years before addressing problems with
overstated oil and gas reserves, according to a
summary of an internal inquiry made public by the
company yesterday (New York Times 2004-04-20).
Africa
Issues in the DEVELOPMENT
OF LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
RIGHTS
occupied the front burner at the International Bar
Association (IBA)'s African Regional Confe-rence
held in Lagos and Abuja. Tools for the initiatives
would include the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD), the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA), African Development Bank and
the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA)
(allAfrica 2004-04-12).
Zimbabwe
Several farms, including one of the largest
suppliers of fresh vegetables to Britain and South
Africa, have been targeted in RENEWED
LAND SEIZURES
in Zimbabwe in the past few days (News24
2004-04-15).
United
Kingdom
The CONSUMER
COMPLAINTS SERVICE,
launched on 19 April 2004, focuses exclusively on
the rapid resolution of complaints about poor
service and replaces the Office for the Supervision
of Solicitors in that role (Law Society (UK)
2004-04-19).
United
States
As high-tech gadgets and devices proliferate, people
who use pacemakers are finding themselves in A
WORLD THAT IS INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE
(New York Times 2004-04-20).
More
than 600 men from 44 countries pass their days in
small cells at a US Navy prison camp in Cuba, far
from the scene of a high-stakes court case that will
help draw the boundaries for the war on terrorism. In
the first major challenge to arise from the war, the
SUPREME
COURT HEARS APPEALS TUESDAY INVOLVING THE GUANTANAMO
BAY PRISONERS,
whom the United States calls "enemy
combatants". The case asks a basic question
about that legal system: Can these foreign-born
prisoners, held outside US borders, use US courts to
try win their freedom? (FindLaw 2004-04-20).
Singapore
IT products distributor Digiland International has
won a landmark case against six customers who sued
the company for not honouring a purchase over the
Internet. The six buyers had placed an order in
January last year for more than 1 600 colour laser
printers at $66 each, a price that Digiland had
mistakenly put up at its online store. 'This is a
landmark case because prior to this, there was no
decision on how a court in Singapore would deal with
A
SITUATION WHERE A MERCHANT RECEIVES ORDERS BASED ON
A GENUINELY MISTAKEN PRICING POSTED OVER THE
INTERNET',
said defence counsel. Judicial commissioner VK Rajah
found the plaintiffs to be opportunistic buyers who
attempted to take advantage of the defendant's
mistake (Business Times (Asia) 2004-04-15).
Indonesia
Indonesia's official elections website showed
election successes for the UNLIKELY
PINK GRANDFATHER PARTY.
The Party Of Bottled Mineral Water also got a boost
after interference by hackers at the weekend,
reports said (IOL 2004-04-19).
-------------------------------------------------------
Monday 19 April
In
a significant decision, Judge Peet Nienaber, the
Ombudsman for Long Term Insurance, has ruled that a LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY MUST CHECK THAT A FINANCIAL
ADVISER GAVE YOU APPROPRIATE ADVICE
if you complain about being mis-sold a product
(Personal Finance 2004-04-17).
Although
no economists forecast a change in interest rates
when the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB)
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets next week,
this DOES
NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THE MPC MAY NOT RAISE THE
REPO RATE
by a cautionary 25 basis points (Finance 24
2004-04-18).
DOCTORS'
BATTLE TO KEEP THEIR DISPENSING LICENCES IS A
CONSTITUTIONAL MATTER
of grave importance, a Pretoria High Court judge
said in a possible boost for the doctors' case
against the Health Department (Pretoria News
2004-04-19).
A WELL-KNOWN
PIETERMARITZBURG ATTORNEY, VANESSA MOODLEY, DIED IN
THE EARLY HOURS OF SUNDAY MORNING
during a fire at her Mountain Rise home (Witness
2004-04-19).
A
suspect, sought in connection with various serious
crimes, has ESCAPED
FROM CUSTODY AFTER POLICE "GAVE HIM" R10
000 TO ENTRAP A TOP POLICE OFFICER
(News24 2004-04-18).
The
more e-mail, Web links and attached files lodged in
their computer systems, the harder it can be for
people to find what they really want. A current race
for a solution goes by the deceptively blah name of
"knowledge management," or KM. It is an
effort to bring Google-like CLARITY
TO THE SWAMP OF DATA
on each person's machine or network (New York Times
2004-04-18).
Have a look at an offering from HotBot at http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3339921.
Africa
An outbreak of POLIO
IN BOTSWANA
has dealt a fresh blow to the global campaign to
eradicate the disease and confirmed fears that it
has vaulted across Africa since some states in
Nigeria suspended vaccinations. The virus has now
spread to nine African countries and Nigeria is its
presumed source (M&G 2004-04-16).
Australia
Outgoing
Family Court Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson has
given LEGAL
APPROVAL FOR A 13-YEAR-OLD CHILD TO BEGIN A SEX
CHANGE
through hormone treatment. The decision is the first
time an Australian child who is biologically one sex
has been given legal approval to begin a gender
change for purely psychiatric reasons (The
Australian 2004-04-16).
United
Kingdom
Tony Blair is expected to announce this week that he
is prepared to HOLD
A REFERENDUM ON THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
in what will be the most dramatic policy reversal of
his premiership (Telegraph 2004-04-19).
On
Tuesday AN
ABORTION WILL BE SHOWN ON BRITISH TELEVISION FOR THE
FIRST TIME.
Elizabeth Day brings together women from both sides
of the abortion debate to watch a preview of the
programme and asks: will it change minds? (Telegraph
2004-04-19).
United
States
The
International Court of Justice has ruled that 51
Mexican nationals on death row in the United States
are owed a review of their cases because they were
not provided access to representatives of their
government when first arrested, in VIOLATION
OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
(New York Times 2004-04-19).
Three
Supreme Court cases generated by the Bush
administration's DETENTION
OF THOSE IT DEEMS "ENEMY COMBATANTS"
will be argued over the next 10 days, framing a
debate of historic dimension not only about the
rights of citizens and noncitizens alike, but also -
or perhaps principally - about the boundaries of
presidential power (New York Times 2004-04-17).
In
the aftermath of 9/11, hundreds of immigrants were
held for months, often without access to telephones
or lawyers. On April 13, 2004, the Department of
Homeland Security announced NEW
RULES INTENDED TO PREVENT LENGTHY DETENTION OF
FOREIGN NATIONALS WITHOUT CHARGE
(Watching Justice 2004-04-13).
The
ADULT-FILM
INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA IS REELING THIS WEEK AFTER
TWO ACTORS TESTED POSITIVE FOR HIV.
The $4 billion to $13 billion a year industry faces
a 60 day shut-down (Health Talk 2004-04-17).
Roman
Catholic hospitals are reassuring patients they will
HONOUR
LIVING WILLS
in the wake of a papal pronouncement that hospitals
should never remove feeding tubes from patients in
persistent vegetative states (FindLaw 2004-04-16).
On
April 18, 1906, a devastating
earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging
fires. About 700 people died. Visit a
reproduction of the NY Times front page on this date
at http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20040418.html?th.
|
