RAPE CHARGE DROPPED The rape charge against New Zealand rugby wing Roger Randle, 22, is to be dropped. The 31-year-old woman who lodged the rape complaint requested KwaZulu-Natal Attorney-General Tim McNally on Monday to withdraw the charge. She gave no reason for her request.
PAGAD IN COURT SIXTEEN Pagad members appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Monday for their participation in an illegal march in December last year, and pleaded not guilty to eight counts of public violence, resisting arrest, participating in an illegal march, and refusing to disperse. Meanwhile, a house in Bonteheuwel in the Cape Flats area was bombed late on Saturday night. The South African Police Services’ Pagad unit is investigating the case, which is similar to other bombings of alleged drug dealers by Pagad vigilantes.
WITS V-C SHORTLIST THE University of the Witwatersrand named Professor Colin Bundy, of the University of the Western Cape, and Professor Francis Wilson, of the University of Cape Town, as the shortlisted candidates for the position of vice-chancellor, which becomes vacant at the end of the year. The candidates will be put through a selection process in June.
US REWARDS THE United States has announced that African countries which accelerate economic reforms will be rewarded with enhanced access to US markets. A US trade mision will visit SA this week to explore the possibility of setting up a free trade area with African governments over the next twenty years.