Charges of stock theft may be brought against those who slaughtered pigs — or stole them — at an accident scene, the King William’s Town Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said on Wednesday. SPCA spokesperson Annette Rademeyer said the police and the Independent Complaints Directorate had taken statements from SPCA staff.
The decomposing body of the 20-year-old daughter of a prominent South African academic was found in a New York University housing complex this week, the Times of London reported on Wednesday. The victim, identified as Boitumelo ”Tumi” McCallum, was found wrapped in a sheet, the newspaper said.
Ethiopia said on Wednesday it had killed more than 500 rebels and captured 170 in the past two months during an offensive in the volatile but energy-rich Ogaden region bordering Somalia. The Ogaden National Liberation Front dismissed the statement as an attempt by the government to lull oil companies interested in the region into a ”false sense of security”.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday cancelled a trip to Afghanistan to attend a key anti-terrorism meeting, citing a previous engagement amid heightened security concerns. On the eve of a high-profile meeting of leaders from volatile regions bordering the two countries, Musharraf telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to tell him that he would not attend.
South Africa’s manufacturing output growth slowed to an unadjusted 2% year on year in volume in June from an upwardly revised 7,7% in May, suggesting higher interest rates may be taking effect, data showed on Wednesday. Compared with May, production fell a seasonally adjusted 3%, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
Rumours that President Thabo Mbeki has asked Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge to resign could not be confirmed by the Presidency on Wednesday. Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga told the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday that it was a ”rumour with no substance” and that he had heard about it from the media.
Tracking down rape suspects has been made a police priority, Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Susan Shabangu said on Wednesday. ”One of the issues we are going to make a priority is to ensure that where we have warrants of arrest for rape suspects, the police go down and hunt those individuals and bring them to book,” she said.
Ramp meters will be installed on four interchanges on the N1 freeway this month, the South African National Roads Agency Limited said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Priya Pillay said the ramp meter would control the flow of traffic onto the freeway.
Six-year-old Steven Siebert’s murderer, Theunis Olivier, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Cape High Court on Wednesday. Handing down sentence, Judge Essa Moosa described Olivier as a cold and callous murderer. ”The victim must have endured excruciating pain,” he said.
McLaren have launched an appeal against the points penalty they were hit with after the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying controversy. McLaren were deducted 15 points due to them in the constructors’ championship and the British team have protested to the FIA via the Motor Sports Association, the governing body for the United Kingdom.