From the KZNLS and its libraries

Time Zone Telegraph On April 25th-26th, 1986 the World's worst nuclear power accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located 80 miles north of Kiev in the former USSR (now Ukraine). At 1:23am the chain reaction in the reactor became out of control creating explosions and a fireball which blew off the reactor's heavy steel and concrete lid. The Chernobyl accident killed more than 30 people immediately, and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 20-mile radius, 135 00 people had to be evacuated. Visit the dedicated website at http://www.chernobyl.co.uk. See also TOURISTS FLOCK TO THE DEAD ZONE OF CHERNOBYL (Telegraph 2004-04-25).   Saturday 1 May   The May 2 DEADLINE FOR DOCTORS TO GET DISPENSING LICENCES from the health department has been extended to June 2, pending an application about the constitutionality of the new licensing dispensation next month (IOL 2004-05-01). "It's an absolute disgrace. It's a slap in the face of every child who has been abused for child pornography." This was the comment of the director of Women and Men Against Child Abuse about TASCO LUC DE REUCK'S "SHOCKING LIGHT SENTENCE", handed down in the Randburg Regional Court this week (Witness 2004-05-01). The second accused in the notorious SMS murder trial was on Friday found GUILTY OF MURDER AND ROBBERY WITH AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES in the Ramsgate High Court.. Wesley Julyan's fate will be decided on May 12. It was requested that a probation officer's report and psychological evaluation be presented to court (Witness 2004-05-01). Search engine giant Google is opening its long-expected initial public offering to the masses through an open auction process, but INVESTORS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO JUMP THROUGH A NUMBER OF HOOPS TO GET THERE (CNet 2004-04-29). As part of its effort to be different, Google will use a so-called Dutch auction for its INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING set for Wall Street in the coming months. The auction will allow investors to set the price of the stock instead of investment bankers, and is designed to eliminate the abuses of the dot-com boom in which shares of hot IPOs were given to favored brokerage clients (Business Day 2004-05-01). Europe The EUROPEAN UNION EMBRACES 10 NEW MEMBERS TODAY in the most ambitious expansion in its history, creating a vast political, economic, judicial union stretching from the Atlantic to the borders of Russia (Telegraph 2004-05-01). Five decades after the Iron Curtain split Europe, the European Union was counting down on Friday to its BIGGEST AND BOLDEST EXPANSION YET with the entry of 10 mainly ex-communist states into the fold (News24 2004-05-01). France Earlier this week the Louvre Museum in Paris, where the Renaissance masterpiece Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is housed, warned that it is deteriorating. REPAIRING THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARTWORK IS NO EASY TASK, especially since da Vinci has an uncanny way of making life difficult for conservationists. Experts are unsure of the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state (National Geographic 2004-04-30). THE WORK IS CLEARLY A SURVIVOR (The Ledger 2004-04-28). United States A federal appeals court yesterday upheld a judge's decision to strip retired autoworker John Demjanjuk of U.S. citizenship, saying the government had proved HE WAS A NAZI DEATH-CAMP GUARD (Kentucky.com 2004-05-01). The California Supreme Court has clarified the state's child custody law, making it MORE DIFFICULT FOR PARENTS TO RELOCATE out-of-state with children if the other parent disputes the move (FindLaw 2004-04-30). Putting a human face to war : visit http://www.noonedied.com. The artist has created "a mosaic composed of the photos of the American service men and women who have died in Iraq". China At least six Aids sufferers and others living in a village in central China devastated by the disease have been ARRESTED FOR SEEKING GOVERNMENT HELP, their families and police said on Friday (News24 2004-04-30). -------------------------------------------------------   Friday 30 April   An APPLICATION BY A GROUP OF DOCTORS TO HAVE THE MAY 2 DEADLINE FOR DISPENSING LICENCES SET ASIDE will resume in the Pretoria High Court on Friday, the National Convention on Dispensing (NCD) said. The doctors want Sunday's deadline set aside so that they could ask the Constitutional Court for a ruling on whether it was necessary for them to re-apply for a licence they were automatically given when they qualified as doctors (Business Day 2004-04-30). South Africa's ELECTORAL PROCESS STILL FACED SOME CHALLENGES, a report compiled by the Election Observer Mission (EOM) said on Wednesday (News24 2004-04-29). Observing that it was A CASE OF CONSENSUAL SEX, an Indian judge has absolved Judge Siraj Desai of the rape of activist Salome Isaacs (The Star 2004-04-30). It is becoming increasingly EXPENSIVE TO BE RACIST. The Equality Court has ordered Andrew van der Westhuizen to pay his colleague Elliot Senwamadi, at Nashua in Lephalale (formerly known as Ellisrus), R10 000 after Van der Westhuizen shared an e-mail "recipe" with fellow staff members on how to "create black people" (M&G 2004-04-30). Read "LETTER FROM THE FOUNDERS", an open letter attached to Google's April 29, 2004 IPO filing" (Newsday 2004-04-29). Zimbabwe Arnold Tsunga provides an OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE, with specific reference to repressive legislation, impunity, the state of the administratino of justice and selective application of the law (Legalbrief 2004-04-29). United Kingdom The House of Lords has granted leave to an appeal in a landmark case on client confidentiality thrown up by the ongoing dispute between the creditors of BCCI and the Bank of England. Many City litigators believe the appeal court ruling threatened a dramatic reduction in the scope of LAWYERS' RIGHTS OF CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY (Legal Week 2004-04-29). United States The California Supreme Court plans to hear oral arguments May 25 on whether San Francisco's mayor had the authority to issue SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LICENSES (FindLaw 2004-04-28). The government on Thursday activated a Web site documenting wide VARIATION IN PRICES FOR SCORES OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS at thousands of pharmacies around the country (New York Times 2004-04-30). See http://www.medicare.gov/. US authorities charged four people in Detroit on Wednesday with E-MAILING FRAUDULENT SALES PITCHES for weight-loss products, the first criminal prosecutions under new legislation (News24 2004-04-29). CNet's report is available at http://news.com.com/2100-7349-5201906.html?part=dht&tag=ntop. See UNITED STATES V DANIEL J LIN, JAMES L LIN, CHRIS CHUNG AND MARK M SADEK : the federal criminal complaint filed by the US Justice Department against four alleged spammers, charging them with violations of the new CAN-SPAM Act law (FindLaw 2004-04-23). -------------------------------------------------------   Thursday 29 April   A settlement is likely to be reached between the Legal Aid Board and labour union the United Association of SA on a DISPUTE ABOUT PAY PACKAGES FOR ATTORNEYS AND ADVOCATES. A strike would delay legal processes and lead to postponement or cancellation of court cases (Business Day 2004-04-29). Australia Telegraph SHREK, THE NEW ZEALAND MERINO SHEEP which spent the last six years on the run from his owners, finally had his long-postponed encounter with a pair of shears last night. The woolly creature was shorn of his 15-inch long, 59lb fleece during a live television broadcast. Some of Shrek's wool will go into jackets, one of which will be presented to Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealand-born Everest pioneer. The rest is being offered in a charity auction on a website: www.shrekauction.co.nz. United States The BUSH ADMINISTRATION YIELDED NO GROUND BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT on Wednesday in arguing that the open-ended military detention of United States citizens as enemy combatants, without criminal charges or access to lawyers, was justified both in law and as policy (New York Times 2004-04-29). President Bush's policy of indefinitely detaining people accused of terrorist links met skeptical questions from most of the US Supreme Court justices yesterday - but KEY JUSTICES APPEARED TO BE EQUALLY TROUBLED by the prospect of ordering that a person who could be a ''ticking time bomb" be freed when he may hold intelligence that could prevent a wider attack (Boston.com News 2004-04-29). Cuba A BLIND CUBAN LAWYER HAS, AFTER A ONE-DAY TRIAL, BEEN GIVEN A FOUR-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE after being held for two years when he was convicted of contempt, public disorder and resisting arrest.  Ten defendants in the latest trial were arrested when they tried to visit an independent journalist who had allegedly been beaten by police.  The nine other dissidents were given shorter sentences.  Last year, the Cuban authorities sentenced 75 opposition activists to jail terms of up to 28 years, prompting criticism from the European Union and the United States (BBC News 2004-04-28). -------------------------------------------------------   Wednesday 28 April   The COMPOSITION OF THE NEW SA CABINET has been announced (News24 2004-04-28). A FIERCE LEGAL BATTLE OVER PANORAMIC SEA VIEW is looming between the owners of a superbly positioned Shelly Beach lodge on the South Coast and a developer who is constructing a six storey building in front of the lodge (Daily News 2004-02-27). In one of his final acts before leaving office, outgoing environment minister Valli Moosa has drafted SWEEPING CHANGES TO THE LAWS GOVERNING THE USE OF 4X4S ON BEACHES in a bid to streamline the issuing of access permits (Cape Times 2004-04-28). Google's LOOMING INITIAL PUBLIC STOCK OFFERING is stirring tremendous excitement, but it shouldn't be surprising if its biggest beneficiaries have some reservations. Some sobering changes are in store at the company, whose breathtaking rise has had a distinctly funhouse flavor. A 70-year-old regulation requires privately held companies with more than 500 security holders of record and $10 million in assets to open their books within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year in which they crossed the reporting thresholds. Google is believed to have triggered the rule last year, giving the company until Thursday to shine a light on its finances for the first time (Wired News 2004-04-27). Germany Animal rights groups have voiced anger at a 39-second Internet-only advertisement that shows Ford's European small car, the Ka, decapitating a curious cat in a quiet English street. Ford insists the CRUEL AD should never have been released but it is too late now : the item is being passed on like a computer virus among young males who find over-the-top English humour funny. Whether it was released deliberately or leaked, the video is a good example of a new style of "viral" advertising that counts on people who like the ad distributing it among themselves (Motoring.co.za 2004-04-28). Australia The ACT Law Society has slammed proposed changes to the Territory’s Bail Act, claiming the amendments are in breach of the ACT’s Human Rights Act. The Law Society’s major concern centres on the proposal to REVERSE THE ONUS OF PROOF IN RESPECT TO BAIL FOR SERIOUS CHARGES SUCH AS MURDER (City News 2004-04-28). United Kingdom Aa supermarket chain is now MERGING A TRIP TO THE SUPERMARKET WITH A WORKOUT AT THE GYM in the hope of wooing time-pressed shoppers. Using technology normally found on gym machines, the trolley can be programmed to make it harder to push, increasing the heartbeat and exercising muscles in the legs, arms and stomach. Sensors in the handle bar allow shoppers to monitor their heart rate and count calories as well as measuring how far they have traipsed up and down the aisles (Telegraph 2004-04-28). United States AMERICA'S LAVISH HANDOUTS TO ITS FARMERS HARVEST POVERTY THROUGHOUT THE DEVELOPING WORLD. And they are illegal as well. That's the conclusion of a World Trade Organization panel that heard Brazil's challenge to the cotton subsidies that belie this nation's commitment to free and fair trade. If the preliminary ruling stands, as expected, it may mean the beginning of the end for European and American practices that provide their farmers an unfair advantage (New York Times 2004-04-28). The veil of secrecy that shrouds the OPERATIONS OF THE MIDDLEMAN COMPANIES THAT MANAGE DRUG BENEFITS for tens of millions of Americans was lifted a bit this week when the nation's largest manager of pharmacy benefits agreed to greater transparency (New York Times 2004-04-28). On Wednesday, April 21, after a closed hearing, the trial judge in the Kobe Bryant criminal case ruled that the psychiatric history of Bryant's accuser, who says he raped her, will remain off limits. Reportedly, the issue the hearing addressed was whether the accuser had waived her PHYSICIAN-PATIENT PRIVILEGE by discussing this information with her mother, friends, and the police. Julie Hilden argues that under current law, the judge was right to hold that she did not waive that right, but also that current law should be changed: In a criminal case such as this one, in which the accuser's testimony will be crucial, the jury ought to be entitled to hear all relevant psychiatric evidence, even if it would ordinarily fall within the physician-patient privilege (FindLaw 2004-04-27). On the US Supreme Court docket is a case seeking public disclosure of information about Vice President Dick Cheney's national energy task force. At issue : the extent to which the Constitution's SEPARATION OF POWERS doctrine entitles the White House to operate in secrecy - beyond the prying gaze of the public, Congress, and even the courts (FindLaw 2004-04-27). The Supreme Court argument about Vice President Dick Cheney's energy policy task force on Tuesday finally came down to this question : IS THE PRESIDENCY ENTITLED TO SPECIAL TREATMENT? (New York Times 2004-04-28). -------------------------------------------------------   Tuesday 27 April   The South African Medical Association (Sama) and the Hospital Association of South Africa (Hasa) agreed on Monday to STOP PARTICIPATING IN FIXING THE SELLING-PRICE OF MEDICAL SERVICES IN CONTRAVENTION OF THE COMPETITION ACT, the Competition Tribunal said. It said in a statement Hasa has also agreed to pay administrative penalties of R4,5-million and Sama will pay R900 000 in accordance with the provisions of the Act (M&G 2004-04-27). Government is in talks with development finance institutions (DFIs), such as the Development Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation, that are likely to result in them taking on riskier investments than ever before. This forms part of a risk-sharing agreement, which government agreed to reach with financiers, to MAKE IT EASIER FOR PARTIES TO THE FINANCIAL SECTOR CHARTER TO FINANCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, such as low-cost housing, small business and development-oriented infrastructure. The core charter group, including banks and black business, is expected to finalise these new risk-sharing agreements by July (Business Day 2004-04-27). Companies running their operations on ILLEGAL SOFTWARE are being given another month in which to come forward and pay the fees to legalise their systems in an extension of amnesty for software pirates (Business Day 2004-04-27). Australia ONLY MARRIAGES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN WILL BE RECOGNISED IN AUSTRALIA UNDER DRAFT LEGISLATION that has the support of both the ruling Liberal-National coalition and the opposition Labour Party. "The proposal would simply be to insert a definition in the Marriage Act which gives formal expression to what most people regard to be the case -- which is that marriage, as we understand it in Australia, is between a man and a woman," Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday (M&G 2004-04-27). United Kingdom The UK Passport Service has launched a six-month trial of biometric technology involving 10 000 volunteers, the same day the government introduced its draft bill for potentially compulsory BIOMETRIC IDENTITY CARDS AND A CENTRAL DATABASE OF ALL OF ITS CITIZENS. Biometric ID cards have been hailed as a powerful weapon in the government's fight against identity fraud, illegal workers, illegal immigration and terrorism, as well as to combat illegal use of the National Health System and other government entitlement programs. The draft bill does not estimate the cost of the program, but past official estimates put it at least at $2.3 billion (PC World 2004-04-27). David Blunkett yesterday WATERED DOWN SUGGESTIONS THAT ID CARDS WOULD STOP TERRORISTS as he set out plans to introduce a compulsory scheme within 10 years (Telegraph 2004-04-27). United States A six-month ban on smoking in public places and workplaces in Helena, Mont, appears to have sharply reduced the number of heart attacks. There was no similar drop for people living outside Helena, where the ban was not in effect. Helena's smoking ban was halted after a court challenge, but the lessons learned from this brief episode add credence to campaigns to limit secondhand smoke around the globe. While far from a definitive study, it does provide NEW EVIDENCE THAT INHALING SECONDHAND SMOKE CAN CAUSE IMMEDIATE HEALTH PROBLEMS, NOT JUST A LONG-TERM RISK OF DISEASE (New York Times 2004-04-27). Michael Jackson has explained why he CHANGED HIS LEGAL TEAM SHORTLY BEFORE HIS COURT CASE, saying he personally 'terminated' two attorneys for not giving him their full attention (ITV 2004-04-27). -------------------------------------------------------   Monday 26 April   The government has made some CONCESSIONS TO THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY by easing some proposals contained in draft regulations on medicines pricing system (Finance24 2004-04-23). Reacting to the MEDICINES PRICING REGULATIONS unveiled earlier on Friday a group representing the pharmaceutical sector said they would consult with government in a bid to avoid a crisis in pharmaceutical delivery (M&G 2004-04-24). An agency that advertised EGG-CELL SAFARIES TO CAPE TOWN on its website has "been frozen". The website, which advertised beautiful young women who were willing to donate egg cells to infertile United States couples, was also closed down (News24 2004-04-24). The HISTORY OF AIDS from 1981 to 1986 makes interesting reading. Zimbabwe Scotland's advocates are RAISING MONEY FOR JUDGES AND LAWYERS IN ZIMBABWE to help them remain independent under the oppressive regime of Robert Mugabe (Newzimbabwe 2004-04-22). Europe Fearful of the smuggling of people and contraband, current Europen Union states in Western Europe made a tightly controlled border one of many conditions that Poles had to fulfill for membership. Given its way, POLAND WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE FORTIFYING ITS EASTERN BORDERS QUITE TO THIS EXTENT. Poles and others are concerned about creating what some people here call a new Iron Curtain, or a new Rio Grande, between it and its former allies in the Soviet bloc, namely Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, exacerbating tensions around who is on the inside and who is left out of the new Europe (New York Times 2004-04-25). United Kingdom Previously unpublished reports have indicated that senior  MILITARY OFFICIALS IGNORED WARNINGS OVER THE CARE OF VULNERABLE YOUNG SOLDIERS, even after two had died. The reports were examined by Surrey Police during its investigation into the deaths of four soldiers at the barracks between 1995 and 2002. No evidence of murder was found after the force's 15-month investigation. But officers uncovered a series of missed opportunities and systematic failings that allowed a culture of bullying, self harm and suicide to continue unchecked in the Army (Telegraph 2004-04-26). United States The Supreme Court hears arguments this week in two  CASES INVOLVING AMERICANS WHO ARE BEING HELD INDEFINITELY, WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO SEE A LAWYER, SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED "ENEMY COMBATANTS". The Bush administration, ignoring basic constitutional principles, argues that because the detentions are military decisions made in wartime the courts have no authority to second-guess them. These are historic cases that could shape the post-9/11 legal landscape for years to come (New York Times 2004-04-26). A Federal Appeals Court has reversed the US District Court's sanctions against the government in the Moussaoui terror case (UNITED STATES V ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI), holding that prosecutors can introduce evidence of the 9/11 attacks at trial and seek the death penalty against him. While Moussaoui may subpoena enemy combatants for his defense, the case is remanded to the trial court to consider the government's proposed alternatives for deposition testimony (FindLaw 2004-04-25).

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