Two youths were killed in Limpopo on Friday after they were circumcised — bringing the number of circumcision deaths to at least 17 in four provinces in the last five weeks. At least 12 deaths were reported in the Eastern Cape, three in Limpopo and one each in Gauteng and North West since the winter ”circumcision season” started.
The Ekurhuleni metro said on Friday it did not understand the basis of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) call for the suspension of its police chief, Robert McBride, and believed any allegations against him should be tested first. ”We don’t understand the basis of that call and how they came to that conclusion,” said mayoral spokesperson Prince Hamnca.
South African Airways (SAA) could face a class action lawsuit for flights cancelled during a 2005 strike after a passenger succeeded in a suit for compensation. Michiel Spaapen said on Friday he had launched a campaign to mobilise other passengers who were also affected by flight cancellations.
Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has been named as Manchester City manager, the Premier League club said on Friday. Eriksson’s appointment was made after former Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra gained enough shares to complete his takeover bid and he will be presented at a news conference later on Friday.
The Potchefstroom city council expressed sadness on Friday over the destruction by fire of a historical Afrikaans church in the town. Mayor Maphetle Maphetle said the council extended its sympathy to the congregation of the NG (Moedergemeente) Church after the building was gutted by fire on Wednesday night.
The N1 to Beaufort West in the Western Cape has been reopened to traffic after a collision involving two trucks and three buses outside Laingsburg earlier on Friday. Seven people were killed and 17 seriously injured, among them a seven-year-old girl. The accident started when a bus heading toward Cape Town collided with a truck.
About 100 Vodacom employees picketed at the company’s head office in Midrand on Friday, demanding recognition for the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU). ”For the past five or six years, we have been trying organise ourselves a mouthpiece. However, this is not happening because Vodacom has used tactics against us,” said Frith Selelo, a senior accountant at Vodacom.
The video-game industry’s annual showcase is saying goodbye to scantily clad booth babes, extravagant, multimillion-dollar exhibits, blaring lights and pounding music. Celebrity appearances from the likes of Paris Hilton or Snoop Dogg are a thing of the past, too.
Microsoft announced on Thursday it will extend the warranty on Xbox 360 video-game consoles to three years, and said too many of the machines have succumbed to ”general hardware failure”. ”We don’t think we’ve been getting the job done,” said Robbie Bach, president of the entertainment and devices division.
A major Nigerian opposition party that is challenging President Umaru Yar’Adua’s electoral victory in court has rejected an offer to join his government because it considers it illegitimate, a party spokesperson said on Friday. Yar’Adua invited the three main opposition parties to join his government in an effort to offset a perceived lack of legitimacy after the April polls.