Palestinian prime minister-designate Ismail Haniya said on Monday that he expects to unveil a new government formed by his Hamas faction and the moderate Fatah party by the end of next week. Speaking to his outgoing Hamas-led Cabinet, Haniya said he would continue talks with Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas on Monday and Tuesday.
Controversial South African police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi received praise in glowing terms on Monday for his role in international policing. As Interpol president, Selebi has ”ensured that Interpol and its member countries remain at the cutting edge” in several respects, said Interpol secretary general Ronald K Noble.
The public gallery of court number one at the Cape High Court was on Monday packed to capacity for the start of the trial of two men charged with the murder in April last year of actor Brett Goldin and fashion designer Richard Bloom. On the night of April 16 2006 Goldin and Bloom were shot dead execution style, each with a single gun shot to the back of their head.
Ghanaians hoisted their Black Star flag across the country on Monday for the country’s 50th birthday party and authorities pledged a two-week respite from power blackouts that have plagued them for months. Tuesday’s jubilee marks half a century since Ghana became the first black African country south of the Sahara to gain independence from colonial rule.
YouTube, the video social-networking website owned by Google, is building a vast network of content providers, a company spokesperson said. YouTube has concluded "more than 1 000 partnerships" with content providers both big and small, YouTube spokesperson David Song said late on Friday.
The Stilfontein police dog unit used a winch to put a caravan back on its wheel after it was thrown about 20m during Sunday’s freak storm at Klerksdorp. The caravan was on the property of the Winner Chapel, a division of the Full Gospel Church, in Jouberton township. It was one of at least three places of worship damaged by the storm on Sunday afternoon.
The JSE headed back below the 25 000 level on Monday hit by the double whammy of weaker world markets and lower commodity prices. A softer rand did little to stem the bourse’s losses. The all-share index tumbled 2,51% to close at 24 919,460. It was its lowest close since January 12.
The European Union-funded Risk Capital Facility 2, launched through South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry, has provided â,¬50-million (about R450-million) to facilitate broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) in the small-business sector. The cash will be disbursed over a three-year period.
Two girls, aged 14 and four, have been rescued after being held in a tiny underground burrow by an alleged serial rapist, South African police said on Monday. A 31-year-old man arrested near the coastal town of Hermanus in the Western Cape province on Sunday claimed the younger girl was his daughter, police said on Monday.
About 2 000 workers employed by Blue Ribbon bakery, mostly members of the Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Fawu), embarked on a national strike on Monday, the union said. ”We are unhappy about the company’s refusal to accede to our demand of a centralised bargaining forum …,” Fawu general secretary Katishi Masemola said.