Ethiopian scientists said on Tuesday they have discovered hominid fossil fragments dating from between 3,5-million and 3,8-million years ago in what could fill a crucial gap in the understanding of human evolution. Archaeologist Yohannes Haile Selassie said the find included several complete jaws and one partial skeleton.
The European Union’s Court of Justice on Wednesday annulled a European Union (EU) antitrust decision that had prevented South African giant De Beers from buying rough diamonds from Russian rival Alrosa. The EU court said that European Commission efforts to curb business between the two diamond operations was ”manifestly disproportionate”.
A British court sentenced four men on Wednesday to 40 years in jail each for an al-Qaeda-directed attempt to carry out suicide bomb attacks on London’s transport system on July 21 2005. Muktah Said Ibrahim, Yassin Hassan Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussein Osman were found guilty on Monday of conspiracy to murder in connection with the botched attacks.
Shea Karssing looks at what’s on offer at this year’s Encounters South African Documentary Festival.
Shops in Zimbabwe’s normally thriving eastern border city of Mutare are fast running out of stock. Seven days after President Robert Mugabe’s government began a blitz on shops and businesses, forcing them to slash prices by half, Mutare’s biggest stores look in part like they’ve been decimated.
Three women arrested for allegedly drowning and burying a child in a yard are to appear before a magistrate in closed chambers in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Wednesday. Inspector Paul Ramaloka said a 34-year-old woman, her aunt and a neighbour would appear in chambers where they are expected to confess to the killing.
National power utility Eskom and trade unions started conciliation meetings in Johannesburg on Wednesday aimed at resolving a wage dispute. Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration spokesperson Lusanda Myoli said Eskom had consented to an offer of intervention last week.
A small town in New England has won the competition to host the premiere of <i>The Simpsons Movie</i>. Springfield, Vermont, which shares its name with the cartoon hometown of Homer Simpson and his dysfunctional family, beat off competition from 13 other Springfields across the United States to claim the prize.
Thousands of pregnant women have been tested for HIV since Liberia introduced a programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission eight months ago.
”Patience.” That is what South Africa’s Robbie Hunter asks of his fans for the duration of the Tour de France. Hunter, captain of team Barloworld, has been inundated with questions from fans who want to know why Barloworld has not already been in a breakaway and why he does not have his team around him to lead him out at the finish.