At least 29 people were killed in lightning strikes across India’s western Maharashtra state, it was reported on Tuesday. State officials said the deaths were reported as heavy storms lashed the several areas in Maharashtra in the last three days.
Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula on Tuesday reiterated his defence of a recent remark in Parliament that people who ”whinged” about crime should leave the country. He told journalists in Johannesburg that his words were directed at three negative opposition MPs taking part in the debate during his Budget vote.
![]()
Liverpool striker Harry Kewell was on Tuesday cleared by a (world soccer governing body) Fifa disciplinary committee to play in Australia’s crucial World Cup group match with Croatia over his full-time rant at a match referee, team officials said.
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor was flown from Freetown on Tuesday to The Netherlands where he will stand trial for war crimes allegedly committed during Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war, court and government officials told Agence France-Presse.
The investigation into an alleged conflict of interest in a home loan to Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya’s wife from Imvume Investments is at an advanced stage, the Public Protector said on Tuesday. Lawrence Mushwana said his office was still looking for certain documents to complete its investigation.
South Africa celebrated World Refugee Day on Tuesday by promising to fast-track its backlog of 100Â 000 asylum applications. The Department of Home Affairs launched four refugee-reception offices around the country to process the applications dating from 1994 to July last year.
Israel on Tuesday threatened a tougher response to Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, faced with a general strike in the town of Sderot to protest the salvos. "The prime minister, others and myself have reached the conclusion no one will be protected if … [it] continues," chairperson of Israel’s parliamentary defence and foreign affairs committee Tsahi Hanegbi said.
Japan was jubilant on Monday after the International Whaling Commission voted to oppose the 1986 ban on commercial whaling, a move that conservationists fear could lead to the resumption of large-scale hunting and bring whale populations to the brink of extinction.
Three United States troops have been charged with murder for shooting three Iraqi prisoners and threatening to kill a fellow soldier who wanted to report the incident, the Pentagon said on Monday. The three men killed were among 200 Iraqis held after a raid on a former chemical factory south-west of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown, the Pentagon charge sheet said.
Taiwan’s tourism shares have soared over the past few months despite an overall drop in the market, but analysts say a few can rise even further as the island prepares to cut restrictions on travellers from rival China. Currently, Taiwan allows Chinese tourists to enter its territory only through a third point, usually Hong Kong.