Armscor has not seen the final version of a forensic report detailing its alleged international sale of small arms ammunition, it emerged on Wednesday. It became aware of the contents of the November 2005 report, reportedly commissioned by Secretary of Defence January Masilela ”in the media”, said Armscor spokesperson Bertus Celliers.
The Safety and Security department is looking at the viability of reporting crime trends to communities, Minister Charles Nqakula said on Wednesday. ”We don’t need to rely on annual crime statistics only, we need to report regular crime trends to communities,” he told a media briefing in Pretoria.
The Metrobus service will resume next week following a two-month strike that ended on Wednesday, the City of Johannesburg said. About 21 violent incidents, including three murders of bus drivers, had been recorded since the strike started on January 29.
President Viktor Yushchenko on Wednesday accused his opponents of ”political corruption” and of bringing Ukraine to the brink of violent confrontation after they refused to fulfil his order to dissolve Parliament. Yushchenko said the behaviour of his arch-rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, threatened to cause a repeat of the armed stand-off in 1993.
![]()
It all came down to the last ball. England needed three more runs against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, having pulled itself from a position of abject failure to the brink of an unlikely World Cup victory. Ravi Bopara had hit 52 to resurrect his team and faced seamer Dilhara Fernando for the final delivery.
At an awards ceremony at Johannesburg’s Summer Place in Sandton on Wednesday night, television producer Bronwyn Nielsen won the 2006 Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year award. Nielsen, who produced a programme for <i>Carte Blanche</i> about South Africa’s high telecommunications costs, also toppled the competition in the television category.
Relics thought to be of Joan of Arc are forgeries made from the remains of an Egyptian mummy, according to scientists. After a battery of tests on the remains, rumoured to have survived the fire that killed the French saint, experts said they were astonished with the results.
Working closely with the Central Intelligence Organisation’s directorate of counter-intelligence, Zanu-PF has been setting up secret death squads comprising members of the National Youth Service training programme. The squads petrol bomb political opponents’ homes, commit acts of sabotage and torture opponents to President Robert Mugabe’s regime, a former member of one such death squad said this week.
Food prices are set to sky-rocket, as a devastating drought has forced maize farmers to their knees. The drought, along with competitive international markets, has lead to soaring maize prices in South Africa. Many farmers believe this is the worst drought in 40 years, and weather statistics have indicated they are not far off.
Never mind the Gautrain, here’s the Rea Vaya rapid bus transport system at only a fraction of the cost. The city of Johannesburg has already begun implementation of its plans for a revolutionary new R2-billion bus system that will run every three to 10 minutes in dedicated bus lanes.