Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride will know by the end of this month if he will face a charge of drunken driving, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday. NPA spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said police had been asked to finalise the case by May 25 when McBride’s dossier had to be back with the NPA for a decision on whether to prosecute him.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is leading a full life with prostate cancer, his office said on Tuesday. ”Archbishop Tutu has got prostate cancer but his health is being monitored by his doctors and he’s leading a full life,” said an assistant. The cancer had resurfaced some time ago after it had been remission, the assistant said.
Marketing company Glomail has withdrawn a South African television advertisement for a supposed memory-training programme that has already run foul of United States regulators. The withdrawal follows a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority about an infomercial broadcast for American Kevin Trudeau’s ”Mega Memory System”.
A peace conference planned for next month to help Somalia heal after more than 16 years of chaos is in jeopardy because of lack of funds, the chairperson of the talks said on Tuesday. The conference, already delayed twice because of violence in the capital, Mogadishu, has been scheduled for June 16.
The South African Weather Service recorded 54 weather records in the icy wet and snowy weather this week. On Monday, there were 34 new temperature records and on Tuesday another 20. At least 17 people were reported dead from exposure or in fires trying to keep warm in the icy wet weather gripping the country.
Schabir Shaik’s last bid for freedom will be heard in the Constitutional Court on Wednesday and Thursday. The former financial adviser of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma is asking the court for leave to appeal his conviction on two counts of corruption and one of fraud, his 15-year jail term and the seizure of his assets.
The United Nations Children’s Fund urged Western donors on Tuesday to put aside politics and back its health, nutrition and education projects in Zimbabwe, where nearly one in three children is stunted by malnutrition. Only ,6-million has been received towards an appeal of ,8-million launched six months ago, the agency said.
The long-awaited Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill was finally adopted by the National Assembly on Tuesday, several months after it was debated in the House. The Bill’s primary purpose is to extend protection and treatment provision to victims of rape, MPs were told.
A power failure in Gauteng’s Midrand area on Tuesday disrupted the new electronic national traffic information system at some testing stations, the Transport Department said. Spokesperson Collen Msibi said generators kicked in immediately after the power failure in the morning.
International Cricket Council (ICC) president Percy Sonn was reported to be critically ill on Tuesday after complications from routine surgery. His personal assistant, George Hector, told Cape Town radio station Cape Talk that Sonn was sedated at the Durbanville Medi-Clinic after being admitted to intensive care there on Monday.