Pluto on Thursday lost its seven-decade status as the ninth and outermost planet of the solar system, the world’s top astrononomical body decided. The decision was made at an assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). ”The eight planets are Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune,” said the IAU.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday launched a website, Victimsofcrime.org.za, to help and empower victims of crime. ”Through our victims-of-crime campaign the DA aims to show that our public representatives care about the same things that ordinary people care about,” it said.
It is not clear whether it was a case of good fortune or bad fortune when Pitso Mosimane on Thursday announced a largely predictable squad for the key opening 2008 African Nations Cup qualifying game against Congo at the FNB Stadium next Saturday. Included in the list of 19 players named by the Bafana caretaker coach is the experienced, if enigmatic Quinton Fortune.
An Austrian girl held captive for eight years after being kidnapped as a 10-year old has been found while her presumed abductor committed suicide, police believe, resolving one of the country’s longest-running mysteries. Austrian police said on Thursday that a young woman found wandering in a Vienna suburb the day before had been identified by her family as the kidnapped girl.
The government has no intention of infringing on media freedom through the draft Films and Publications Amendment Bill, Government Communication and Information System head Themba Maseko said on Thursday. The Bill was approved by the Cabinet at its fortnightly meeting at Tuynhuys on Wednesday.
The main witness in an alleged plot to topple Burundi’s government on Thursday recanted his claims, saying he had made the accusations under torture and threats from authorities. Alain Mugabarabona’s surprise statement came three days after police arrested the country’s former president Domitien Ndayizeye in connection with the purported plot.
![]()
Reaction to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s calls for Jacob Zuma to abandon his presidential ambitions was muted on Thursday. By Thursday afternoon, Zuma himself had not responded to Tutu’s comments made while delivering the Harold Wolpe Memorial Lecture in Cape Town on Wednesday.
The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi on Thursday labelled calls for his resignation as an ”elaborate plan” to discredit him and the NPA. The Congress of South African Trade Unions in KwaZulu-Natal claims Nkosi lied when he said the NPA would be ready to proceed with its case against Jacob Zuma.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) threatened on Thursday to escalate mass action if Merafong — a cross-border municipality — is incorporated into North West. Merafong includes Carletonville and Khutsong, which were part of Gauteng. The remainder of Merafong, including Fochville, is part of North West.
African National Congress national executive committee member Tony Yengeni, who was swept to the gates of Pollsmoor prison on a wave of solidarity from party officials, suggested on Thursday that Parliament erred in its handling of his fraud case. He was addressing a crowd of supporters outside the prison’s gates.