Apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok and former police chief Johann van der Merwe will be charged with attempted murder next month. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday that the matter will be heard on August 17.
Six people were stabbed to death during initiation ceremonies over the weekend, Eastern Cape police said on Monday. Captain Jackson Manatha said the initiates were stabbed by people while attending three different ceremonies. Five people were arrested in connection with the incidents.
Taxpayers will start receiving the new, simplified tax return forms from Monday, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) has announced. By the end of July, almost four million IT12S and IT12C returns will have been mailed. Tax returns in Adobe PDF could also be downloaded from the internet, printed out, completed and submitted manually.
Britain announced on Monday the expulsion of four Russian diplomats to protest against Moscow’s refusal to extradite a suspect over the murder of ex-agent Alexander Litvinenko, the first such step in over a decade. The decision marks a major escalation in the row triggered by Litvinenko’s radioactive poisoning last November.
Progress was made in talks on Monday to avert a strike at oil refineries and fuel producers, trade union Solidarity said. Spokesperson Marius Croucamp said the unions met employers, who made an official offer of a 7,5% wage increase. Negotiators indicated they would increase the offer to 8% provided the employer agreed.
Matric pupils at about 50 schools in the Western Cape are yet to write their mid-year exams because of the recent teachers’ strike, provincial education minister Cameron Dugmore said on Monday. ”Although various schools have been affected differently by the recent public-service strike, I am most concerned about matric learners,” he said.
A strong earthquake measuring 6,8 on the Richter scale struck in the Sea of Japan off Kyoto, western Japan, the meteorological agency said on Monday — hours after a separate quake that killed at least seven people and injured nearly 700 others. The first, deadly 6,8-magnitude earthquake also ignited a fire at a nuclear power plant.
South African and Zimbabwean trade unions on Monday called on the Zimbabwean government to admit to the crisis in Zimbabwe. They urged the Zimbabwean government to call off its ”short-term populist actions” and actively cooperate with the Southern African Development Community process.
Five-time Major winner Seve Ballesteros announced his retirement from golf on Monday, ending one of the most glittering careers in the modern game. The Spaniard, who won the British Open three times and the United States Masters twice, told a news conference at Carnoustie: ”This has been the most difficult decision of my life.”
Soccer’s ruling body, Fifa, is preparing to send out a powerful message against racism this week through a string of events to mark the 89th birthday of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon and former president Nelson Mandela. A star-studded line-up of football greats will tog out for a match in Cape Town on Mandela’s birthday.