Court reviews DRC vote amid fears of Kabila bias

The Supreme Court now takes centre stage as the arbiter of a poll that five opposition candidates have rejected in the DRC's presidential election.

Banned FNB savings product to be piloted in the US

The FNB Million-a-Month Account concept is being tested in the United States as a way to increase savings.

Ethiopia court sentences ex-dictator Mengistu to death

Ethiopia's Supreme Court sentenced former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam to death in his absence on Monday, along with 17 senior officials of his regime, overturning a previous life term on appeal. The court followed the request of the prosecution to toughen the sentence imposed in January 2007 on Mengistu.

Man loses lawsuit over fly in bottle of water

Canada's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the case of a man who said he lost interest in sex after he found two dead flies in an unopened bottle of drinking water. Waddah Mustapha sued the bottling company, saying he had suffered psychological damage, including depression, phobia, anxiety and damage to his sex life after the unpleasant 2001 discovery.

Waterkloof Four file appeal papers

Lawyers for convicted murderers the Waterkloof Four have filed papers in the Pretoria High Court for an application for leave to appeal, it was reported on Wednesday. The four want to take their murder-conviction appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal after they lost their first appeal case in the Pretoria High Court last week.

Jo'burg to appeal water-meter ruling

The City of Johannesburg will appeal a high court ruling that found forcibly installing prepaid water meters is unconstitutional, mayor Amos Masondo said on Wednesday. In a speech prepared for delivery, Masondo said the city had consulted its lawyers, who had carefully considered the judgement regarding meters in Phiri, Soweto, and found that it was "distorted".

Mbeki 'ignored judges' on Zim's 2002 poll

President Thabo Mbeki's role as a mediator in the Zimbabwean crisis took another knock after disclosures that he ignored the advice of two judges he commissioned to observe that country's 2002 general elections. Mbeki commissioned judges Sisi Khampepe and Dikgang Moseneke to observe the controversial Zimbabwean election in 2002.

Fidentia's Brown expected in court on Monday

Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown is expected to appear in court in Cape Town on Monday after he was arrested on charges of theft, fraud and money laundering on Friday. He was arrested in Cape Town's central business district appeared in the district court. The case was postponed to Monday and Brown was to remain in police custody until he appeared in court.

Fidentia's Brown arrested in Cape Town

Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown has been arrested on charges of theft, fraud and money laundering, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday. "J Arthur Brown was arrested on the strength of a warrant following the investigation that was carried out on a separate leg of the bigger Fidentia investigation," said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.

Pioneer of US inter-racial marriages dies

Mildred Jeter Loving was a shy, unassuming black woman who never expected to make history when her landmark 1967 Supreme Court case ended the ban on interracial marriages in the United States. Loving (68) died on May 2 of pneumonia at her home in the town of Milford, Virginia.

Court upholds Waterkloof Four murder conviction

The Pretoria High Court on Wednesday turned down an application by the so-called Waterkloof Four to overturn their murder conviction and sentence. Judge Willie Seriti ruled that the earlier decision by the Pretoria Regional Court to convict Christoff Becker, Frikkie du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk and Reinach Tiedt of murder and assault was correct.

Bhopal: Hundreds of new victims are born each year

Hundreds of children are still being born with birth defects as a result of the world's worst industrial disaster 23 years ago in the central Indian town of Bhopal, say campaigners. They are demanding that the Indian government provide immediate medical care and research the "hidden" health impacts.

Newseum blends journalism history, hands-on exhibits

On one floor is a bullet-scarred car used by American journalists in the Balkans. On another is the phone Rupert Murdoch used to make multibillion-dollar media deals. And in between there is one of the biggest remaining chunks of the Berlin Wall and the mangled remains of a communication tower from the 9/11 attack.

Briton faces trial over Serb massacre of 200 Croats

A British citizen was charged on Thursday with war crimes in the Balkans 16 years ago and faces trial in Belgrade for allegedly taking part in the murder of at least 200 Croatian prisoners by Serbian firing squads. Milorad Pejic, a Croatian Serb from the Croatian border town of Vukovar, lived in Corby in Northamptonshire for 10 years until last month.

Former Israeli president on trial on sex charges

Israel's former president Moshe Katzav was due to appear in court on sexual-harassment charges on Tuesday, becoming the country's first former head of state to go on trial. The Jerusalem District Court set the hearing after rejecting a postponement request by Katzav's lawyers, who claim they were not given full access to prosecution documents.

FNB competition an unlawful lottery, court rules

First National Bank's (FNB) "million-a-month account" competition is an illegal lottery, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled on Friday. The SCA dismissed the bank's appeal against a Pretoria High Court declaratory order, according to which the bank's competition was a lottery prohibited by the Lotteries Act.

Ex-bouncer sentenced to 24 years in jail for murder

Former Elite bouncer Jonathan Street sat impassively as he was sentenced to an effective 24 years in jail for the murder of 18-year-old art student Kyle Norris, the Star reported on Thursday. Street was found guilty, earlier this month, of shooting Norris in the head at the Mac X sports and strip club in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg, on November 19 2006.

Sanef rails against e.tv Zim election ban

The ban on free-to-air television broadcaster e.tv from covering the Zimbabwean polls detracts from that country's claim to hold free and fair elections, the South Africa National Editors' Forum (Sanef) said on Tuesday. Zimbabwe's state-owned Sunday Mail first reported the ban.

New Pakistan PM sworn in by Musharraf

Pakistan's new prime minister was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday as two senior United States envoys arrived for talks aimed at shoring up Islamabad's role in the "war on terror".

Cosatu: 'Collusion' between prosecutors, farmers

There is a need to investigate collusion between state prosecutors and white farmers, the Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Patrick Craven said they demanded a full investigation into the conduct of the police and prosecutors.

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