Whether it costs the Makana municipality two cents or R100-million to change the name of Grahamstown and the names of other places and landmarks, the names will change, said Grahamstown mayor Phumelelo Kate on Thursday. ”You cannot equate the transformation of our country to costs. Change must happen and nothing is going to stop it,” Kate was reported as saying.
A former boyfriend of murdered teenager Samantha Uys on Thursday told the Pretoria High Court that one of her alleged killers had confessed his role in the gruesome murder to him. Joshua Bebington testified in the trial of his two friends, Kabelo ”KB” Mokwena and Ricky ”Slash” Godfrey.
A Chilean judge on Thursday ordered the arrest of the widow and five children of late dictator Augusto Pinochet as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption, judicial sources said. Judge Carlos Cerda also ordered the arrest of several retired military officers from the Pinochet era.
The Competition Commission has recommended the prohibition of a merger between Arcelor Mittal and Duferco Steel Processing. The merger would ”substantially prevent or lessen competition”, the commission said in a statement on Thursday.
Mogadishu traders were dejectedly sifting through the charred remains of their shops on Thursday after a huge fire destroyed one-third of Bakara market, once the Somali capital’s main business hub. The vast market area and its intricate network of alleyways were completely disfigured by the fire.
No impeachment proceedings will be instituted against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said on Thursday. Chief Justice Pius Langa said although the JSC members were divided on whether there was sufficient evidence to justify proceedings that could lead to impeachment, it was generally agreed the proceedings should not be pursued.
Workers rebuilding a 19th-century Moscow house unearthed the remains of nearly three dozen people apparently dating back to the era of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s political purges nearly 70 years ago, police officials said on Thursday. Police also found a rusted pistol on the estate where the remains of an estimated 34 people were discovered.
The government has ten days to submit its reports to an official inquiry on why National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli is not fit to hold office, former speaker of the National Assembly Frene Ginwala said on Thursday. These reports would be examined at an official hearing into Pikoli’s fitness to hold office.
Mining is and always will be a dangerous business. But every time there is a seismic event, a rockfall, or, as happened this week, a broken lift, a new round of muttering begins.
Talks between protesting students at the University of the Witwatersrand and management will continue, vice-chancellor and principle Loyiso Nongxa said at a media briefing on Thursday. ”Negotiations between students and management will continue on Friday until a compromise is reached,” he said.