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/ 31 January 2008
Former Test cricketer Mark Vermeulen has been cleared of arson attacks on the Zimbabwe Cricket Board’s headquarters after a court found he was suffering psychiatric problems, his lawyer said on Thursday. Eric Matinenga said Mishrod Guvamombe, the presiding magistrate at Wednesday’s hearing in Harare, had delivered a ”special verdict”.
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/ 31 January 2008
A Sudanese-backed Chadian rebel column has advanced deep into Chad towards the capital, Ndjamena, in the west, the government said in a statement broadcast by state media on Thursday. A separate security source in Ndjamena said the column of about 300 vehicles had passed through the town of Ati and halted 250km east of Ndjamena.
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/ 31 January 2008
South Africa’s producer price inflation quickened to 10,3% year-on-year in December, above forecasts, after a 9,1% increase in November, official data showed on Thursday. On a monthly basis, PPI increased by 0,5% after a 0,3% rise in November.
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/ 31 January 2008
Platinum miner Zimplats Holdings said on Thursday its revenue jumped 57% in the last quarter of 2007 on the back of higher production, but concerns remain over power supply problems. Revenue for the three months to December was ,67-million, up from ,57-million in the previous quarter.
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/ 31 January 2008
A multiparty committee has been set up to investigate allegations involving the mayor of Rustenburg, Matthew Wolmarans, the municipality said on Thursday. Municipal manager Andries Boschoff said a motion of no confidence was passed against the mayor on Tuesday during a council meeting.
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/ 31 January 2008
Malawi finally has to face up to the dilemma of choosing between being a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or to stick with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) if it is to continue receiving funding from the European Union.
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/ 31 January 2008
The labour minister has welcomed the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute two Sasol employees in connection with an explosion in 2004 in which ten people were killed. ”We are happy that our recommendations for prosecution have resulted in someone having to account for the flouting of … laws,” said Membathisi Mdladlana on Thursday.
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/ 31 January 2008
Several Durban rivers are polluted with health-threatening levels of E. coli bacteria, sometimes at levels hundreds of times over the recommended safety limits for drinking, washing, swimming or canoeing, the Mercury reported on Thursday. The eThekwini municipality has been singled out as one of the ”most significant” polluters.
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/ 31 January 2008
Piotr Kucy (38) from the city of Polkowice in south-west Poland was wrongly identified by authorities last August as a drowned man, only to show up a few days after his own funeral. Despite pointing out the fact that he was alive to government officials, Kucy still remains dead in official records, stopping him from working and paying social insurance.
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/ 31 January 2008
A suicide bomber targeted an Afghan army bus in the centre of Kabul on Thursday, causing numerous casualties, officials said. One civilian was killed and four people were wounded, including an army officer, they said. A purported Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said one of the militant group’s suicide bombers was responsible for the blast.