Attacks on foreigners in Gauteng seem to have abated, with police reporting that the situation has been ”quiet” since Wednesday evening. The anti-foreigner attacks broke out in Alexandra last Sunday and have since spread across the province and now into Mpumalanga, the North West and KwaZulu-Natal.
The man accused of killing seven-year-old Sheldean Human last year started crying when telling police how he strangled the child and dumped her body. Director Piet Byleveld and investigating officer Michael van Aardt both testified that Andrew Jordaan was emotional when he confessed the murder to them.
Woolworths will take the majority of its yoghurt products off the shelves because a supplier had included gelatine as an ingredient, the company said on Thursday. Julian Novak, head of food, said Woolworths had an explicit agreement with its yoghurt suppliers not to include gelatine in their products.
South African Airways (SAA) and its pilots have reached a three-year salary and restructuring agreement, the airline announced on Thursday. The agreements would facilitate greater labour stability and assist the airline with its return to sustainable profitability, CEO Khaya Ngqula said.
Power failures could be expected between 5pm and 10pm on Thursday due to technical problems at power stations, Eskom announced. ”About 16% of Eskom’s installed capacity is currently not available due to planned maintenance, unplanned outages, and load losses.”
The Zimbabwe government on Thursday denied taking delivery of a consignment of weapons from China after a ship carrying the arms was prevented from unloading its cargo. ”The shipment did not dock and there has not been delivery as yet,” Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi told journalists.
More people across all race groups in South Africa are living in relative poverty, a report released by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said. The number of white South Africans living in relative poverty has doubled, from 2% to 3,9% since 1997, the number of black South Africans has increased from 50,3% to 57,2%, the commission’s report found.
The Pretoria High Court has ruled that a statement to police by the man accused of killing seven-year-old Sheldean Human was admissible as evidence. Acting Judge Chris Eksteen said on Thursday he would only give reasons for his ruling at a later stage. This was after Andrew Jordaan of Pretoria West took the stand on Thursday, claiming he was innocent.
South Africa made the front page of world newspapers for all the wrong reasons this week as anti-foreigner violence spiralled out of control.
There had been production setbacks at DRD Gold’s ERPM operation in Primrose on the East Rand due to violent attacks on foreigners, who make up 38% of the workforce. Spokesperson James Duncan said fewer foreign nationals had been reporting for work since Monday and the mine was in a ”loss-making situation”.