A murderer who was sentenced to life in jail on Tuesday told the Grahamstown High Court he could be nailed ”to the cross so I can die for the sins of others”. Roro Mntwaphi (41) made the remark before Judge Johan Froneman sentenced him and Mbulelo Kula (25) for the murder of Stephanus Williams (60) on May 8 2007.
A statutory media tribunal would not only be unconstitutional but it would not solve the plethora of problems in the industry, a discussion group concluded on Tuesday. Jane Duncan from the Freedom of Expression Institute said the proposed body would obviously be unconstitutional, and would not fly.
Gordon Brown said on Tuesday the government needs to send a message that cannabis is ”unacceptable,” increasing speculation he will decide to tighten drug laws. The British prime minister said he was particularly worried about the growing use of skunk cannabis, which he described as ”more lethal”.
Georgia is preparing to invade its breakaway region of Abkhazia, Russia said on Tuesday, days after Moscow warned it would defend its Abkhaz allies if they came under attack. It said Georgia had amassed 1 500 soldiers and police in the upper Kodori Gorge, a pocket of breakaway Abkhazia, which is controlled by Tbilisi.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for a fourth militia leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for recruiting child soldiers to fight in the country’s devastating civil war, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Bosco Ntaganda was charged for his actions during the conflict in the eastern province of Ituri.
Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has tendered an unconditional apology to a tribunal hearing his appeal against a five-year ban, the tribunal head said on Tuesday. The 32-year-old paceman was banned earlier this month for breaching the players’ code of conduct by publicly criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Gold Fields said on Tuesday that four miners had been killed in two separate underground accidents at its Driefontein and South Deep gold mines on the West Rand. Vishnu Pillay, head of Gold Fields’s South African operations, said the company deeply regretted the loss of life and said safety was still their number one priority.
The JSE was weaker in quiet trade at midday, weighed down by a firmer rand, lower metal prices and what was described as a disappointing production report from Anglo American. South African markets were closed on Monday for a holiday and are also closed on Thursday and Friday this week, with many players away for the two days in between.
Electricity-supply constraints experienced at Anglo Platinum mines in January and February affected production, the company said on Tuesday. In its quarterly review report for the period January 1 2008 to March 31 2008, the company said that the ”ongoing impact of the constrained electricity supply is expected to continue to have some impact on production”.
A total of 7 868 items of luggage belonging to South African Airways (SAA) passengers were reported missing from airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London in the three-month period between December 1 and February 29 this year.