The South African Revenue Service (Sars) said in a statement on Monday that it rejected claims by two Sunday newspapers that SARS customs officials at the Johannesburg International airport (JIA) were working with criminal syndicates who target foreign diplomats upon their arrival in South Africa.
The four police officers killed in Sunday’s bloody clash in Jeppestown in Johannesburg have been identified, while Gauteng’s provincial minister for community safety warned that criminals are mounting a guerrilla war. Captain Dennis Adriao said on Monday the police officers died when the West Rand flying squad and dog unit ”heroically” chased down the heavily armed fugitives.
Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin has declined to answer a parliamentary question about whether Western Cape farmers — hit by recent power outages — could sue the power parastatal Eskom. He was asked by Democratic Alliance MP Sarel van Dyk whether Eskom will give financial compensation to fruit-crop farmers.
A Zimbabwean court on Monday moved the trial of an ex-Rhodesian soldier accused of masterminding a plot to topple President Robert Mugabe to the eastern city of Mutare, officials said. Peter Hitschmann was arrested in early March along with seven others, including an opposition parliamentarian.
The United States will deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on Japanese soil this year for the first time as the region braces itself for a possible test launch by North Korea of an intercontinental ballistic missile, local media reports said on Friday.
Palestinian security forces under the command of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were desperately searching on Monday for the Israeli soldier kidnapped by militants the previous day, as the army massing on Gaza’s border stood poised to invade.
The world’s two biggest steelmakers — Mittal Steel and Arcelor — agreed on Sunday on a deal that forges a new force in the global steel business. This follows a marathon meeting of Arcelor’s 18-head board on Sunday with Indian-born Lakshmi Mittal’s group forced to raise its takeover price to secure Arcelor’s backing.
There were all sorts of ways of being taken for a ride at the first Cape Town International Book Fair. There was no parking to be had if you were foolish enough to be late by more than 10 minutes for this crazy, excitable fiesta, which meant that you had to tack back into the traffic that was inching towards what was called the overflow parking.
South Africa’s Unidentified Flying Objects Resource (Saufor) will host its second annual Unbind Your Mind UFO conference in celebration of World UFO Day on July 1 in Cape Town. Cristo Louw, founder of Saufor, said in a statement on Monday: "The time is ripe for the South African public to be informed about the true nature of the UFO issue."
Abortions based on gender selection will remain legal in China after lawmakers could not agree on a planned law to criminalise the practice, state press reported on Monday. The planned amendment to the criminal law would have allowed jail sentences of up to three years for people involved in abortions based on the sex of the foetus, the China Daily reported.