No image available
/ 29 November 2007
Former chess champion turned Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov was freed from jail on Thursday and warned that Russia is sliding toward dictatorship under President Vladimir Putin. Kasparov complained that he had been denied access to a lawyer during the five days that he spent in a Moscow prison.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
It’s a done deal. All the signs are there that Jacob Zuma will lead the African National Congress.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
Clutching an exam pad and diary, former bouncer Gary Beuthin took notes from almost the instant he stepped into the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Wearing a grey and white T-shirt, blue tracksuit pants and shackles at his ankles, Beuthin seemed to scan the court for supporters as he walked in.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
The handover of a controversial report drawn up by an African Union watchdog into standards of governance in South Africa was postponed indefinitely on Thursday, officials said. President Thabo Mbeki was expected to have received the African Peer Review Mechanism report at a ceremony in Pretoria to which journalists had been invited.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) lost R66-million on fraudulent unemployment claims between April 2005 and March this year, the fund said on Thursday. UIF spokesperson Kgomotso Sebetso said it is considered fraud for people to continue to receive benefits despite having secured a new job.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
Hundreds of people have been left homeless in the landlocked kingdom of Swaziland after a severe storm wreaked havoc, disaster officials said on Thursday. Ben Nsibandze, chairperson of the National Disaster Management Agency, said 76 households had been given tents and blankets after the heavy rains that began sweeping through Swaziland on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
The Supreme Court of Appeal agreed on Thursday with a golf-estate homeowner that he is entitled to relief for badly aimed golf balls from the sixth hole at the Milnerton golf course. Nearly 900 golf balls had hit his home between 2003 and 2006. The court upheld an appeal by Alexander Simonis against a Cape High Court judgement.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
Toy distributor Just Fun Toys has recalled all its stocks in South Africa of Bindeez Magic Beads, the distributor said on Thursday. The stock was recalled as a new bead coating, changed by the Chinese manufacturer without consulting its developers, was found to be potentially harmful if ingested.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
The Cape High Court on Thursday found former Old Mutual actuary Fred van der Vyver not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Inge Lotz. The acquittal brought to an end a dramatic trial that had lasted nine months, which Judge Deon van Zyl described as ”long and emotion-packed”.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
Almost 80% of South African pupils do not develop basic reading skills by the time they reach grade five, a new international study released on Thursday shows. The Progress in International Reading Literacy study was conducted in 40 countries and carried out locally by the University of Pretoria.