SUHARTO TO GET TOP HONOURVISITING Indonesian President, Mohamed Suharto, is to receive South Africa’s highest honour, the Order of Good Hope, at a special ceremony at President Nelson Mandela’s residence this weekend. The award-ceremony will be Suharto’s last stop in South Africa before he leaves for Cananda on Saturday. Last month the award was given to another notorious international figure, Libya’s Muammar Gaddaffi.
JUST AN UGLY AMERICAN A SRI LANKAN minister who came under fire for comparing a woman athlete’s looks to a “black South African man” has denied being racist and sexist. He now says he compared the woman to a “black American youth”.
Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera, involved in a slanging match with the country’s top female athlete, Susanthika Jayasinghe, accused unnamed political enemies of sending false information about him to South African embassies.
NINE SEAMEN MISSINGRESCUE teams are searching the seas for the nine crew members of two ski boats which went missing off the Western Cape coast near Mossel Bay this morning. Police, the National Sea Rescue Institute and the crews of a helicopter and two aircraft have had no luck so far. The NSRI said the seas are very choppy in the area, with seven metre waves and winds gusting up to 50km/h.
LESOTHO STUDENTS PROTEST CHILD ABUSESTUDENTS from the National University of Lesotho marched through the main streets of Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, on Friday, in protest against the increasing level of sexual abuse of children in the country. The students presented city and government officials with copies of a petition against abuse.
PRETRIAL SERVICES JOHANNESBURG this week became the second South African city to implement a pretrial services office – Justice Minister Dullah Omar formally opened the office at Johannesburg Magistrate’s Courts on Thursday. The office, similar to the one opened in Cape Town earlier this year, contains a database service with records of suspected criminals, which will provide information for future bail applications, and improve witness protection and victim support. The facillity also has six witness waiting rooms and 11 trained staff members.