Pilot error caused the air crash that claimed the life of former South Africa cricket captain Hansie Cronje, an inquest unanimously concluded on Monday. The presiding officer, Judge Siraj Desai, said it was the court’s view that the death of Cronje was brought about ”by an act or omission prima facie amounting to an offence” on the part of pilots.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Monday hit out at corruption in the country after reports said security had been boosted around the central bank governor because of his unpopular anti-corruption drive. In a speech to mark Heroes’ Day, Mugabe told thousands of supporters in Harare that wrongful self-enrichment will not be allowed to go unpunished.
Southern Africa’s Aids pandemic, the world’s worst, is being fuelled primarily by low condom use among people with multiple concurrent sexual partners and low levels of male circumcision, a study said on Monday. The report said men’s sexual attitudes and behaviours, intergenerational sex and high levels of gender and sexual violence were also to blame for the rapid spread of the disease.
Heavy fighting in southern Lebanon stopped abruptly on Monday after a United Nations-brokered truce came into effect, but reports that Israeli troops killed a Hezbollah guerrilla underlined the fragility of the truce. Army Radio and the Haaretz newspaper’s website said the Hezbollah fighter was shot dead after he opened fire on Israeli troops in south-west Lebanon.
Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin "must apologise publicly" for misleading the South African public about sabotage at Koeberg power station, says the official opposition Democratic Alliance. Minerals and energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt said in a statement on Monday that this week he would introduce a motion in Parliament to censure Erwin "for this gross lack of discretion".
She considers herself lucky to be alive, says Patricia Mbiza, who was seriously wounded in last week’s boardroom shooting in Pretoria. The Pretoria News on Monday quoted her as saying: ”He wanted to kill us, and he killed my colleagues and friends.” Mbiza recounted how a colleague at a Sunnyside engineering firm, Happy Nkosi, pulled out a firearm at a board meeting on Friday.
Just when you think every idea under the blogging sun has been thought of, someone comes along with a simple, yet genius, plan to get people creatively interacting. Renaud Dehareng (30), of Brussels, Belgium, works in municipal social assistance by day, but when he has free time he runs the strange, quirky blog called <i>Sho()tmyblog.blogspot.com</i>.
Three Filipino energy industry workers kidnapped in Nigeria have been freed and handed over to Philippine embassy officials, the foreign department said on Monday. Cornelio Fallaria (51), Daniel Monteagudo (49) and Alberto Torres (50) were turned over to embassy officials, Foreign Undersecretary Esteban Conejos told reporters.
South Africa is sure to break into the top 10 international conference destinations by 2010, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday. Speaking at the national conference of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry, he said conferencing and its allied products continue to thrive.
Zimbabwe has splashed -million (about R24-million) on buying 320 luxury vehicles for middle-ranking police officers, Zim Online reported on Monday. It quoted ”authoritative” sources as saying the government was planning to spend another 10-million (about R60-million) on cars for military and secret-service officers.