More than 3 000 construction workers, nine-million bricks, 90 000m³ of concrete, 13 000 tons of structural steel and 10 000 tons of reinforcement steel. Nearly 10-million man hours later, South Africa's flagship stadium stands ready for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

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The seats at South Africa's flagship 2010 World Cup stadium have been installed, the pitch grass is turning a luscious green, and the extraordinary facade is complete. Now the venue managers are planning a few trial runs before the official opening, scheduled for February 2010.

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South Africa is working on a turn-around plan for its ailing municipalities, some of which have seen dissatisfied residents taking to the streets in recent months to voice their frustration, in order to create responsive, efficient, effective and accountable" local government in the country.

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Thousands of runners are expected to participate in the 18th edition of the Nedbank Soweto Marathon, taking place in South Africa's most famous township on 1 November.

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South Africa's new Centre for Sea Watch and Response will be able to identify and track vessels up to 1 000 nautical miles from the country's coastline, as well as South African-flagged vessels anywhere in the world.

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The set-top boxes that many South Africans will need to watch television when broadcasting goes digital-only will be available at stores throughout the country in 2010. The government is expected spend R400-million to subsidise 70% of the cost of the units for poorer households.

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The United Nations has endorsed the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa as a platform for peace and development across Africa, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon saying the event has the power to change the world's perception of the continent.

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Thousands of English fans have already begun gearing up for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, with the international coordinator of the country's Football Supporters' Federation, Kevin Miles, spending time in South Africa this week to get the lay of the land.

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Teachers and staff at Bucchleuch Primary School, Johannesburg get behind South Africa's national football team, Bafana Bafana, and the Football Fridays initiative.

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South Africa is to extend its child support grants to children up to the age of 15 from January 2010. The grants only apply to children from poor households, and their caregivers will have to ensure that they remain in school in order to qualify for the grant.

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A silver medalist at the 2000 Olympics, deaf swimmer and cyclist Terence Parkin has dominated the Deaflympics like no other athlete, accumulating 29 medals over more than a decade. At the recent Fina Swimming World Cup in Durban, he showed that he can still challenge the best in the world.

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The South African Reserve Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday. The key repo rate remains at 7%, while the prime rate stays at 10.5%.

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The South African government is to announce a decision on the country's Airbus A400M military transport aircraft contract "in a matter of days".

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South Africa has signed a deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo that will allow South African farmers to lease up to 10-million hectares of land in the DRC for the production of maize, soy beans, poultry, dairy cattle and other produce.

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Since its inception in January 2006, the Government Employees Medical Scheme has grown its membership base to more than 400 000 principle members and now provides healthcare cover to well over a million beneficiaries.

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A sharp fall in government revenue this year, particularly taxes on companies' profits, will cause a widening in the budget deficit of up to 8.3% of gross domestic product, an economist has said ahead of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's medium-term budget policy statement next week.

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Recognising the potential of the local film industry and the huge impact its growth could have on economic development, The Department of Trade and Industry is proposing the option of an incentive being paid according to production milestones achieved.

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MTN and Vodacom have agreed to revise their call termination rates and are proposing an approximately 19% immediate reduction in interconnect tariffs, with further reductions year-on-year for the following three years.

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To the surprise of few people, Carlos Alberto Parreira was named to succeed Joel Santana as Bafana Bafana coach on Friday. His appointment means he will complete the job he was originally appointed to do in February 2007: lead South Africa at 2010 Fifa World Cup.

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In a stunning result, Lamontville Golden Arrows claimed their first major title when they crushed Ajax Cape Town 6-0 in the final of the MTN 8 at Soweto's Orlando Stadium on Saturday night - grabbing the R8-million winners prize in the process.

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