Cuba’s political future remained uncertain on Monday as senior members of Fidel Castro’s government made apparently contradictory remarks about whether the President’s 47-year rule had come to an unofficial end. Castro, who will be 80 next week, transferred his powers to his brother Raúl last week as he had intestinal surgery.
The Lebanese army called up 5Â 000 reservists on Monday night to prepare for deployment along the border to try to speed up the departure of Israeli forces, the main hurdle to the United Nations Security Council adopting a ceasefire resolution. The army, regarded as neutral by Israel, has not been involved in the present conflict.
Eskom on Monday warned the public of a new ”refund” scam where criminals use Eskom and South African Revenue Service (Sars) letterheads to defraud large companies, businesses and individuals. Scam operators forge letterheads stating that an overpayment has been made and request that the money be refunded.
A 35-year-old man appeared in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court on Monday after he allegedly stole a corpse from a local mortuary and had sex with it, Mpumalanga police said. The man faces charges of breaking and entering, theft and violation of the body of a dead person, said Superintendent Abie Khoabane.
A man had to be rescued after he was stuck for three days on a ledge in an unused building in Auckland Park on Monday, emergency services said. The homeless man from Limpopo had been trying to hide from robbers and climbed up a series of stairs to reservoir tanks previously used to produce gas at Egoli Gas company.
Australian television cricket commentator Dean Jones was fired from his job on Monday after referring to South African Muslim batsman Hashim Amla as a ”terrorist”, Independent Online reported. Jones, who is a former Australian Test player, admitted to making the comment and apologised.
Civil servants who fraudulently claimed social grants include police officers, National Prosecuting Authority employees and a staffer in the president’s office. The list of 1 792 civil servants who are required to pay back fraudulently obtained grants was released by the Department of Social Development.
Police were within their rights when they arrested two Scorpions members at Johannesburg International airport, a senior official said on Monday. ”In my view the police have done nothing wrong, I’m happy with their reactions,” said Sean Tshabalala, police divisional Commissioner for protection and security services.
Giyani in Limpopo is home to some of the poorest people in South Africa — the majority of the residents are unemployed and live in abject poverty. For women, especially, carving out a livelihood can be very difficult in a region that is short of opportunities.
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>South African Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Pravin Gordhan is to be asked by South Africa’s official opposition whether the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust has been registered as a non-profit organisation and whether Sars would pursue any donors who made donations to the trust for a donations tax.