Legal action against Nationwide, and other brief reports

* A 14-year-old girl appeared briefly at the Estcourt Magistrates’ Court yesterday charged with the murder of her four-year-old half sister. The girl was remanded in custody as her guardian was not present in court. – The Witness * Three bidders have been selected as potential buyers of a 26% stake in the second network operator, including Old Mutual Asset Managers and India’s Tata Africa Holdings. A third unnamed group has also qualified to compete for the controlling stake, said Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri yesterday. – Business Day * In its response yesterday to public submissions on the draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, SARS rejected a Banking Council call for a delay in introducing a new system of taxing hybrid financial instruments, saying they led to heavy tax avoidance. – Business Day * A priest will appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court today charged with raping a 12-year-old girl. – IoL * Trade union Solidarity says its legal services had won more than R33m in awards on behalf of members in 2004. It litigated 3 500 cases during the year. Almost half of these cases involved the unfair dismissal of members. – Finance24 * Liberia’s Justice Ministry has begun freezing the assets of people regarded by the UN as close associates of exiled former president Charles Taylor, who is wanted by a war crimes court in Sierra Leone. – Business Day * The Agriculture Department has invited the public to comment on the draft Genetically Modified Organisms Amendment Bill, which published in the Government Gazette on October 8. – Daily Dispatch