Well known academic pleads guilty to fraud and other brief reports

* A far-reaching liquor policy goes to the Western Cape Cabinet today for approval, paving the way for about 20 000 disadvantaged liquor traders to enter the regulated market. The white paper seeks to ensure that shebeeners or taverners became part of the system. – Finance24 * The European Court of Human Rights has condemned the UK for violating the rights of two activists convicted of libelling US fast food chain McDonald\'s, ending a 15-year legal battle. The decision marked a victory for campaigners Helen Steel and Dave Morris, who were found guilty in the so-called ‘McLibel’ trial. – Mail & Guardian Online * Government has hinted it will bar the proposed Cosatu Zimbabwe border blockade. Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told a media briefing in Parliament yesterday the government would deal with the blockades ‘according to the laws of this country’. – Business Day * Rodney Melville has postponed the jury selection in pop icon Michael Jackson\'s child molestation trial to allow the star to recover from a serious case of the flu. ‘We cannot proceed without him,’ the Santa Monica judge explained. – IoL * The Port Elizabeth Magistrates’ Court has fined three men R8 000 each for perlemoen poaching. In another case related to alleged perlemoen poaching, Xhi Zong (40), a Chinese national, was denied bail and his trial postponed to March 24. – The Herald * Two days after the Port Elizabeth Traffic Department was given a fleet of new cars, one of its officers, Sipho Meslane, was arrested for allegedly driving a new patrol vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Meslane, who appeared in the New Brighton Magistrates’ Court, said he would conduct his own defence. The case was postponed to April 5. – The Herald * A charge of malicious damage to property against Happy Sindane has been withdrawn in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court. The complainant filed a withdrawal statement that he did not want to proceed with the matter. Sindane was accused of throwing stones at a taxi, breaking four windows. – SABC News