The Second Network Operator (SNO) has been given access to an inter-city communication network following the singing of an agreement on Friday, it said. The heads of agreement, signed with the Department of Public Enterprises, provides for the SNO to have access to an inter-city, high-capacity, full-services network, the SNO said in a statement.
The United States and Lebanon said on Friday a deal on a United Nations resolution to end Israel’s month-old war with Hezbollah guerrillas is in sight. But Israel told the US it would not automatically accept any such resolution, Israeli television said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also ordered the army to expand its ground offensive.
An earthquake rocked central and western Mexico on Friday, forcing office workers and residents to evacuate buildings in Mexico City. The tremor, measuring 5,9 in magnitude, was centred in the western Michoacan state. It was not immediately known whether there were any casualties or serious damage to buildings.
Three men from a Pretoria engineering company were killed and a woman critically wounded when one of the company’s directors opened fire on Friday, police said. The incident happened around 12.15pm at the Silver Unicorn offices in Sunnyside, said Gauteng police spokesperson Mary Martins-Engelbrecht.
The National Directorate of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with its Mozambican counterpart to fight cross-border crime. ”The agreement will facilitate the exchange of techniques and strategies in the field of combating crime, particularly cross-border organised crime,” NDPP spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said.
Five foreign nationals were sentenced to varying prison terms after they were arrested for attempting to smuggle R8-million worth of perlemoen (abalone), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday. Three Chinese and two Zimbabweans appeared in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday where judgment was handed down, said NPA spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi.
Passengers in transit to London must ensure that they comply with new security measures on hand luggage, South African Airways (SAA) said on Friday. The airline said in a statement that passengers connecting to further destinations are requested to travel without hand luggage to avoid inconvenience at London’s Heathrow airport.
Early indications are that flood damage in Nelson Mandela Bay could total as much as R120-million, the municipality said on Friday. It said in a statement that newly appointed municipal manager Graham Richards had told a special council meeting that there was extensive damage to roads, storm-water drainage and other municipal infrastructure.
At least four Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) election officials have been arrested in Kinshasa for electoral fraud, legal sources said on Friday, as 15 candidates complained of ”massive irregularities” in the poll. The suspects are accused of trying to falsify documents recording results from the presidential election held 12 days ago.
David Beckham was left out of new England coach Steve McClaren’s first England squad on Friday, raising speculation that his international career could be over. Beckham, who quit as captain after England’s quarterfinal exit from the World Cup in July, did not feature in McClaren’s list of 25 for next Wednesday’s home friendly against Greece.