Investigations gathered pace on Thursday into whether contaminated petrol was responsible for a mysterious problem that has damaged the engines of hundreds of cars across Britain. Retailers and suppliers said they were carrying out tests on fuel but had so far found no evidence of any abnormalities.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was on Thursday accused of unlawfully appointing scores of political cronies from his former Likud party in the latest scandal to mar his beleaguered leadership. The more than 100 alleged fixed jobs include senior positions in public bodies, such as local councils and the postal authority, which require open competition at public tender.
The National Prosecuting Authority on Thursday started digging up an unmarked grave at Mamelodi West cemetery, near Pretoria, in search of the remains of an African National Congress liberation fighter who died in detention 44 years ago. The family of Looksmart Ngudle was at the site of the digging.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Sbu Ndebele on Thursday slammed an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) claim that the provincial government had pulled R200Â 000-worth of advertising as a result of negative media reports. Ndebele described a statement by the IFP’s provincial leader, Lionel Mtshali, as an ”outrageous and despicable lie”.
Staff at South Africa’s largest consumer lending banks will practise restraint in the way they sell credit to the public. Announcing a new code of conduct effective from Thursday afternoon, the Banking Association of South Africa said it was responding to complaints about harassment and inconvenience caused by the forceful overselling of credit.
President Thabo Mbeki has not received any papers requesting him to appear before the Constitutional Court to explain his sacking of former spy boss Billy Masetlha, his office said on Thursday. This follows Masetlha lodging leave to appeal a high court decision that rejected his application to be reinstated as director general of the National Intelligence Agency.
Arthur M Schlesinger Jr, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Kennedy insider who helped define mainstream liberalism during the Cold War and remained an eminent public thinker into the 21st century, has died, his son said. He was 89. Schlesinger suffered a heart attack while dining out with family members on February 28 in Manhattan.
The state will apply to keep the media and public out of the trial of two foreign nationals accused of being part of an international nuclear-smuggling ring. The trial of Swiss citizen Daniel Geiges (67) and German citizen Gerhard Visser (66) was on Thursday postponed in the Pretoria High Court to July 22.
Adam Scott and Ernie Els wilted in the hot and humid conditions on Thursday and will need to produce something special if they want to reel in Johnnie Walker Classic leader Brad Kennedy. World number four Scott fired a three-over-par 74 to be nine off the pace while Els, the world number five, trails by eight after shooting 73.
The last AM Live radio show to be hosted by John Perlman will be on Friday, the SABC said. ”Friday is the last day,” said SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago. The popular broadcaster resigned in January after nine years of presenting the morning current-affairs programme.