Two of the accused in the Boeremag treason trial said on Monday they had no plans to testify against a couple accused of harbouring them while they were on the run. Herman van Rooyen and Jan Rudolf Gouws said in statement, faxed from their attorney’s office, that it was reported in an ”untruthful way” that they would testify against Jaco Bogaards and his wife, Beth.
Gestetner Diamond Eagles opening batsman Boeta Dippenaar will captain a 14-man SA A squad to play two four-day matches against Zimbabwe in Harare and Bulawayo from August 9 to 18. The first four-day game will be played from Thursday to Sunday and the second from Wednesday to Saturday next week.
One civilian was killed and eight wounded in two bomb blasts in Ethiopia’s remote Ogaden region, officials said on Monday, as Ogaden rebels and the government blamed each other for the explosions. ”Two suspects have been arrested,” said a spokesperson for Ethiopia’s Information Ministry, who declined to be named.
Olympic chiefs should give the All Africa Games the same priority as other continental competitions if they are to be taken seriously by the rest of the world, the event’s director general said on Sunday. The officials said African nations had to change their ”attitude” and respect deadlines set by organising committees.
Exports of fresh meat, live animals and milk products will be banned from all of mainland Britain following its recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, the European Commission said on Monday. A spokesperson said the commission, the executive arm of the European Union, would formalise the decision — which was agreed with Britain — later on Monday.
Fourteen Africans and one Afghan citizen who participated in the Homeless Soccer World Cup in Denmark have gone missing, police and organisers said Monday. The 15 men had entry visas that expired on Monday and would be arrested and deported if found, Danish police said.
A suicide bomber sped into a Shi’ite village and blew up a truck packed with explosives, unleashing a massive blast that killed 30 people and pulverised mud-brick homes in northern Iraq on Monday. The bomber detonated his deadly charge in al-Quba after driving across farmland, flattening homes, killing 30 people and wounding dozens.
Hundreds of sharks have been slaughtered daily off the coast of Ecuador since a ban on the sale of fins was lifted last week, prompting warnings of ecological disaster. Fishing boats have returned to shore laden with fins of dozens of species, including several that are threatened with extinction.
South Africa’s National Treasury said on Monday the country will not impose a windfall tax on synthetic fuel producers such as Sasol and PetroSA. ”[The] government has also decided not to proceed with a tax on the windfall profits earned by existing synthetic fuel producers,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe criticised what he called unfair media reports aimed at muddying the image of developing countries, as Asian and African leaders held talks on Monday on fighting poverty. Mugabe slammed news reports that are ”quite often deliberately intended to tarnish and mislead”.