Pakistan on Wednesday changed venues for two of its one-day international cricket matches against South Africa ahead of a tour next month, officials said. The Pakistan Cricket Board cited a lack of cricket facilities in Peshawar and Rawalpindi as reasons for the change, but sources inside the governing body said the fragile security situation in both cities was the main reason.
One of the Boeremag accused applied on Wednesday for his discharge on 33 of the charges against him, saying there was no evidence linking him to crimes committed while he was in jail. Mike du Toit (47) and 20 co-accused denied guilt four years ago on 42 charges.
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 African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday acknowledged the government for its efforts to emancipate women. The party would continue to advocate for the empowerment of women, particularly those who remained vulnerable to poverty, disease and violence, it said in a statement ahead of Thursday’s 51st anniversary of the 1956 Women’s March.
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.
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.
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”.
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.