An undersea earthquake struck near Indonesia’s Moluccas islands on Tuesday but Indonesian officials said it was of moderate strength and there was no risk of a tsunami. The state meteorological agency downgraded its initial estimate of the quake’s magnitude and withdrew a tsunami warning.
Popular band Live will return to South Africa for the third time during their upcoming Black Mountain — White Light tour in October, Big Concerts said on Tuesday. The tour will begin in Johannesburg on October 27 before moving on to Durban on October 28, Port Elizabeth on October 30 and Cape Town on October 31.
A Durban hijacker who shot dead a Pietermaritzburg teacher and wounded his girlfriend was sentenced to life plus 45 years in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday. Mlandeli Madlala (22) was given a life sentence for the February 2005 murder of Irshad Jogiat, a teacher who was to obtain a law degree at the end of that year.
Mail & Guardian journalists Stefaans Brümmer and Sam Sole, together with former staffer Wisani wa ka Ngobeni, have jointly won the Media Institute of Southern Africa’s John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award for 2006 for their reports on the Oilgate scandal. The team also won the category for print news at the regional Vodacom Journalist of the Year 2006 awards.
Marches and demonstrations will be held across the country on Friday as striking cleaners attempt to have their pay demands met, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) said on Tuesday. ”The wages in the cleaning industry are pathetic. It is completely unacceptable,” said Satawu general secretary Randall Howard.
A man was injured at an explosion at an electricity substation in Westdene in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, the electricity distributor Centlec said. ”We are still investigating the cause of the explosion,” said Zolile Lobe, chief executive of Centlec. The injured man was a Centlec employee.
The leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia met on Tuesday to ease mounting tensions along their border where at least 100 people have been killed in tribal attacks over the past three months. In addition, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles al-Zenawi were discussing prospects for restoring stability in their neighbour Somalia, officials said.
South Africa’s Department of Agricultural and Land Affairs has no legislation or policy providing for the settlement of black farmers at the expense of others, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulu Xingwana said on Tuesday. ”Where black farmers are settled on land previously owned by white … farmers, due processes within the constitutional framework … will continue to be followed.”
Former Cape Town City manager Wallace Mgoqi could face a bill of almost R9-million over alleged irregular spending he authorised on a jewellery city project. He could also face criminal charges, mayoral committee member for finance Ian Nielson told a media briefing on Tuesday.
Terrorist activities in Africa are increasing, a counterterrorism conference in Kyalami, north of Johannesburg, heard on Tuesday. The threat is mainly from global terrorist groups seeking refuge, recruits and funds, said David Radcliffe, regional director for Africa in the office of the United States Secretary of Defence.