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Saturday 15 May
The
RIGHTS
OF FOREIGN SPOUSES
issue is once again in the spotlight in the Cape High
Court, this time as an international model seeks to
force South Africa to let the father of her child
back into the country (Pretoria News 2004-05-14).
A
Sandton domestic worker, convicted of arranging a
robbery in which her employer was raped and
murdered, claimed in the Johannesburg High Court on
Friday that she has a SPLIT
PERSONALITY
(News24 2004-05-15).
A
unemployed, destitute woman's R2 000 fine for
possession of drugs was on Thursday considered as
"CLEARLY
BEYOND HER MEANS"
by two Pietermaritzburg High Court judges who
altered the sentence to a suspended term of
imprisonment (Witness 2004-05-14).
United
States
ON
TUESDAY MICROSOFT RELEASED INTO THE OPEN-SOURCE
COMMUNITY A SERIES OF PRE-EXISTING TEMPLATES
DESIGNED TO SIMPLIFY THE WRITING OF WINDOWS PROGRAMS
- making it possible for developers to freely modify
the templates (CNet News 2004-05-13).
ADVANCED
SEARCH FEATURES OF LONGHORN,
the next major version of Windows, won't be fully in
place until 2009. The technology, called WinFS, is
an add-on the Windows file system that Microsoft
says will make it easier for users to find data such
as documents, e-mail messages and multimedia files,
no matter what their format, on local PCs and across
the network (CNet News 2004-05-13).
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Friday 14 May
He
was RELEASED
ON R2 000 BAIL AND APPARENTLY RAPED AGAIN.
Elmarie
van Rensburg, 53, editor of the newspaper Midrand
Reporter, believes the legal system failed her
because her alleged rapist managed to obtain bail so
readily (News24 2004-05-14).
The
long-running battle for COMPENSATION
PAYMENTS TO SOUTH AFRICAN ASBESTOS MINERS
ended in June 2003 when the English high court
approved a settlement that had been reached on March
13 2003. The
claimants received a total of about R128m from Cape
Plc and Gencor Ltd (Finance24 2004-05-13).
Taking
on Yahoo in yet another field, Google
is testing a service that lets people create e-mail
discussion groups. Called
GOOGLE
GROUPS 2,
the service lets people create, search and sift
through e-mail mailing lists. People can also
subscribe to and monitor groups of interest. The
search engine introduced a test version of the
service on its Web site Wednesday. "Google
Groups 2 enables users to participate in global
conversations about any topic," the company
said (CNet News 2004-05-13).
United
States
Dozens of judges have penned opinions describing
Google as a valuable - and sometimes crucial -
source of knowledge. INTERNET
SEARCHING IS GATHERING GREATER CLOUT AMONG THE
JUDICIARY
- a controversial trend that's so far garnered
little attention outside legal circles (CNet News
2004-05-13).
The
formerly secret (but widely disseminated) Report on
the Pentagon's investigation of the US 800th
Military Police Brigade's TREATMENT
AND ALLEGED ABUSE OF PRISONERS HELD AT IRAQ'S ABU
GHRAIB PRISON
(FindLaw).
One
of the military police officers charged in the abuse
scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison has offered to PLEAD
GUILTY AND PROVIDED INVESTIGATORS WITH A DETAILED
ACCOUNT OF HOW GUARDS HUMILIATED AND BEAT DETAINEES
(Twin Cities 2004-05-14).
Cases
before the Supreme Court raise a historic question:
can the Executive Branch unilaterally designate the
Guantanamo detainees as "enemy
combatants", hold them indefinitely without
charging them with any crime, fail to treat them as
prisoners of war, and refuse them access to counsel
- all without the possibility of review by the
judiciary? After the Iraqi prisoner abuse
revelations, the PROSPECT
OF THIS KIND OF UNREVIEWABLE DETENTION IS ALL THE
MORE FRIGHTENING.
Even with military court-martial a possibility, the
Iraq abuses occurred. Without any court watching,
what will happen in US prisons, run by our country
in our name? (FindLaw 2004-05-13).
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Thursday 13 May
Justin
Hope has SIX
MONTHS BEHIND BARS TO CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT HE
STILL THINKS THE WORD "BITCH" IS A TERM OF
ENDEARMENT.
Hope's lawyer, Japie van Zyl, tried to convince
magistrate SM Mati in the Randburg magistrate's
court on Wednesday that his client was just being
affectionate when he called e.tv producer Debbie
Meier a "Jewish bitch" and a "Jewish
c**t" when she tried to stop him beating up her
cameraman (IOL 2004-05-13).
The
Somerset West "inventor" who made
international headlines two years ago by asserting
he could tap electricity from the Earth's magnetic
field - and took up to R70-million from eager
investors - has been CHARGED
WITH FRAUD.
It is alleged that the power actually came from
simply tapping into the municipal supply (IOL
2004-05-13).
The
Pietermaritzburg High Court was on Wednesday asked
to hold the National Director of Public Prosecutions
(NDPP) and a curator in contempt of court for
disobeying three court orders to RETURN
CONFISCATED SUSPECTED STOLEN CATTLE
(Witness 2004-05-13).
Two
of the three MAJOR
POLLUTERS IN SOUTH DURBAN
- Mondi Paper and the Engen Oil Refinery - on
Wednesday again ran foul of the already irate south
Durban community. Against the background of a long
history of tensions between the community and
industry in the heavily polluted basin, companies
and the South Durban Community and Environmental
Alliance (SDCEA) clashed over development plans and
a pollution incident (Witness 2004-05-13).
Google's
Gmail appears destined to become ONE
OF THE MOST USEFUL INTERNET SERVICES
since Google itself. Like Yahoo Mail and Hotmail,
Gmail is a free, Web-based e-mail program, which
means that you will be able to check or send e-mail
from any computer on the Internet, wherever you go.
The most important difference between Gmail and
other programs is the amount of storage: one
gigabyte. That's 250 times the amount you get on a
free Yahoo account, 500 times the amount on Hotmail.
One gigabyte means that Gmail can be a handy
personal transfer disk. Send files to yourself and
then retrieve them when you get to the office (New
York Times 2004-05-13).
United
Kingdom
A girl aged 14 was sent to hospital for an ABORTION
WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF HER MOTHER, ON THE ADVICE
OF A HEALTH VISITOR AT HER SCHOOL
(Telegraph 2004-05-13).
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Wednesday 12 May
There’s
a new syndrome emerging in office drones. It’s
called IRRITABLE
DESK SYNDROME
and its causes are your basic description of the
working day of anyone who uses a desk, computer
terminal and telephone each day: poor posture,
cluttered desk and long working hours. Unchecked,
the problem leads to chronic pain, loss of
productivity and reduced job prospects (Health24
2004-05-12).
United
States
SADDAM
HUSSEIN WILL BE HANDED OVER TO THE IRAQIS
before the transfer of power at the end of June, the
lawyer preparing the former dictator's trial said on
Tuesday (M&G 2004-05-12).
Cell
phone cameras are useful for the unusual moment that
demands a picture. Some people, however, are using
them for nefarious purposes, such as taking pictures
beneath women's skirts and posting them on the
Internet. Lawmakers want to make taking such
surreptitious photos and other ILLICIT
USES OF VIDEO TECHNOLOGY
a federal crime punishable by up to a year in jail
(FindLaw 2004-05-11).
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Tuesday 11 May
In
1995, Christina van Rooyen bought vegetables on
credit for R200. Six years later the THE
DEBT NEARLY COST HER THE ONLY HOUSE SHE EVER OWNED.
On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court was to examine
the constitutionality of a section of the
Magistrate's Court Act, which was used to take her
home away (IOL 2004-05-11).
The
Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday applied the
Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful
Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (PIE) in its
decision to uphold an appeal in an eviction case.
The COURT
UPHELD THE APPEAL IN MOSOMANE & OTHERS V
SEMAG HOUSING CORPORATION
(News24 2004-05-10).
The
Pretoria High Court has sentenced a mother to
LIFE
IMPRISONMENT BECAUSE SHE REPEATEDLY "GAVE"
HER 11-YEAR-OLD ONLY CHILD TO BE BE RAPED
by the man with whom she was living (News24
2004-05-10).
It
is important that the POWERS
OF THE TAXMAN TO COLLECT TAXES AND ENFORCE THE TAX
LAWS ARE EQUALLY BALANCED WITH THE RIGHTS OF
TAXPAYERS
(Business Daty 2004-05-10).
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini
Zuma, in Cape Town, announced on Monday that A
REQUEST HAS BEEN TRANSMITTED TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN
GOVERNMENT ON BEHALF OF FORMER HAITIAN PRESIDENT,
JEAN BERTRAND ARISTIDE, TO VISIT SOUTH AFRICA, UNTIL
HIS PERSONAL SITUATION NORMALISES
(SA Government Online 2004-05-11).
United
States
The
power of DNA
AS A TOOL OF JUSTICE
is familiar to many. But in the real world, the
states' forensic laboratories are a hodgepodge of
low skill levels and weak resources. Universal
standards are missing on such crucial matters as the
proper preservation of biological evidence and its
availability for appeals of convictions. This makes
it all the more urgent that the Senate pass a highly
creative measure that would help the states bring
their DNA analysis techniques up to sophisticated
levels, and help death row inmates have more
competent legal counsel and fairer access to DNA
testing (New York Times 2004-05-11).
The
soldiers responsible for the disgraceful physical
and sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners may face
court-martial proceedings, at least if the military
justice system functions as it should. But WHAT
OF THE CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS WHO WORKED HAND IN GLOVE
WITH THE MILITARY AT IRAQ'S ABU GHRAIB PRISON?
Will the atrocities they committed be, at most, bad
for their careers - a source of negative letters in
their employment files? Or will the civilians who
shared responsibility for the criminal abuse meted
out to detainees at Abu Ghraib be tried, convicted,
and sent to prison? (FindLaw 2004-05-10).
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Monday 10 May
The
constitutional court's 11 judges must decide on
Tuesday whether poor people, who have only one
chance to own a government-subsidised house, can
lose that house by public auction because they
cannot pay petty debts. The judges must consider WHETHER
SECTION 66 OF THE MAGISTRATES COURT ACT INFRINGES
SECTION 26 OF THE CNOSTITUTION,
which entrenches the right of citizens to access
adequate housing (Business Report 2004-05-09).
One of
South Africa's biggest land claims has been declared
valid by the KwaZulu-Natal Land Claims Commission. The
Mandlanzini community, which lodged a CLAIM
OVER RICHARDS BAY
- the country's largest deepwater harbour - is
rejoicing after the commission accepted the claim,
valued at R390-million (Sunday Times 2004-05-09).
A new
specialised unit will be established to ADDRESS
THE LACK OF CAPACITY AT LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL,
identified by President Thabo Mbeki as a major
hindrance to service delivery (News24 2004-05-09).
The
18-year old student whom German authorities arrested
on Saturday CONFESSED
TO CREATING THE "SASSER" WORM
and told officials that his original intention was
to create a virus that would combat the
"Mydoom" and "Bagle" viruses,
removing them from infected computers. In the course
of that effort, he developed the "Netsky"
virus further - and after modifying it created
Sasser (News24 2004-05-08).
Human
rights organizations are increasingly concerned that
A
CENTURY OF BUILDING STEADY SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL
TREATIES BANNING TORTURE COULD BE IRREPARABLY
DAMAGED
(Baltimore Sun 2004-05-05).
After
years of hesitation, world health agencies are
racing to acquire 100 million doses of a CHINESE
HERBAL DRUG THAT HAS PROVED STRIKINGLY EFFECTIVE
AGAINST MALARIA,
one of the leading killers of the poor (New York
Times 2004-05-10).
United
Kindgom
The
Church of England curate who mounted a LEGAL
CHALLENGE TO THE LATE ABORTION OF A FOETUS WITH A
CLEFT LIP AND PALATE,
has agreed to a police request to postpone her High
Court action. A judicial review, due to start on May
24, has been delayed indefinitely under pressure
from West Mercia Police, who have re-opened a
criminal investigation into the case. While Miss
Jepson, who was born with a congenital jaw defect
and has a brother with Down's syndrome, welcomed the
police decision to re-investigate, she was concerned
that the delay could allow the wider issue to be
sidelined. "This case has highlighted a grave
injustice against babies deemed unfit to live
because of an impairment," she said. "We
therefore look forward to the judicial review as
this is essential to a wider redress of this
discrimination in our society" (Telegraph
2004-05-09).
MAKING
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FREELY AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET
COULD CUT PUBLISHING COSTS BY AS MUCH AS 30 PER CENT
without lowering publication standards, according to
a new report by the Wellcome Trust, the United
Kingdom's leading biomedical research charity
(SciDevNet 2004-04-30).
The
high court, in a test case with WIDESPREAD
IMPLICATIONS FOR BRITISH SOLDIERS,
will hear claims that they acted unlawfully by
killing innocent Iraqis in a series of incidents in
Basra over the past year (Guardian Unlimited
2004-05-06).
United
States
The first of seven soldiers charged with abusing
Iraqi prisoners was ordered yesterday to face a PUBLIC
COURT-MARTIAL IN BAGHDAD IN 10 DAYS
(New York Post Online 2004-05-10).
The
Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System and
the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement
System, two of the largest US retirement plans for
public employees, will act as lead plaintiffs of a CLASS
ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE EMBATTLED OIL GIANT ROYAL
DUTCH/SHELL
(Finance24 2004-05-09).
Libya
Libya has sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a
Palestinian doctor to DEATH
BY FIRING SQUAD FOR DELIBERATELY INFECTING SOME 400
CHILDREN WITH HIV.
Expert witnesses, including one of the team which
discovered the Aids virus, said this was an epidemic
caused by poor hygiene at the hospital, not by any
international conspiracy (BBC News 2004-05-06).
Pakistan
Horrifying
new DETAILS
OF HOW DANIEL PEARL, THE MURDERED WALL STREET
JOURNAL REPORTER, MET HIS DEATH
have emerged from the interrogation of new suspects
by Pakistani police. Pearl, who was kidnapped in
Karachi in January 2002, knew for several hours that
he was about to be killed, but resisted repeated
attempts to sedate him, police now believe
(Telegraph 2004-05-09).
Greece
At least six islands are for sale and, according to
locals, THE
LATEST TO BE DISCREETLY PUT ON THE MARKET IS
SCORPIOS,
formerly owned by the late Aristotle Onassis, the
billionaire Greek shipping magnate (Telegraph
2004-05-09).
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