Admitting to being HIV-positive is a difficult task for anyone, but David Balubenze was faced with some special challenges as the pastor of Deliverance Church Nankandulo, in Kamuli, about 100km from the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Balubenze knew he was HIV-positive for a year before he told church elders.
Egypt’s High Court on Monday rejected the latest bid by jailed opposition leader Ayman Nur to be released on medical grounds, his lawyer said, adding that he would now seek a presidential pardon. The court was due to release details of its verdict against the one-time pro-democracy darling of the West later.
At least nine people were killed and 18 wounded in central Somalia when two clans fought on Monday over land, hospital and local officials said. The fighting erupted between the Sa’ad and Dir sub-clans over disputed land in Galkaio town in central Somalia, said Bile Mohamud Qabowsade, a government official.
Rising above the escalating violence in and around Tibet, the message from around the world was loud and clear: ”Let the Games begin.” European nations and Olympic committees said on Monday they opposed a boycott of the Beijing Games over China’s handling of the unrest in Tibet.
The South African wheelchair basketball team have avoided the big guns in the pool stages of the Beijing Paralympics. South Africa have been drawn in Pool A with world number-one side Canada, but will not have to contend with Pool B powerhouses the United States, Australia and Britain.
There are obstacles hampering trade between South Africa and Indonesia that need to be addressed, President Thabo Mbeki said on Monday. He was speaking after hosting his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at the Union Buildings for bilateral talks.
The South African National Taxi Council launched a ”taxi pledge” on Monday. The spotlight has been on taxi violence recently after a 25-year-old woman was stripped and assaulted by taxi drivers at Johannesburg’s Noord Street taxi rank because she was wearing a miniskirt.
The University of the Free State on Monday asked for proposals on the future of its Reitz men’s residence from various affected parties. A racist video surfaced at the institution last month, made by former students living in the Reitz hostel. The video features black university employees on their knees eating food that had apparently been urinated on by a white student.
News Corporation and NBC Universal has begun offering free online television to the United States public through internet joint venture Hulu.com. The much-anticipated online service boasts a rich library of shows and films people can view old-fashioned television style — supported by advertising.
The case against a 36-year-old man, accused of murdering 11 KwaZulu-Natal women and dumping their bodies in sugar-cane fields, was postponed on Monday in the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court for further investigation. Magistrate Giel van Aarde postponed the case until April 23.