South Africa’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development says there is no truth in a recent <i>Mail & Guardian</i> story where it was asserted that President Thabo Mbeki had intervened and stopped the "judges Bills". The <i>M&G</i>, however, stated on Friday that it stands by the story, which it holds to be "of immense public interest".
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende submitted his government’s resignation on Friday, clearing the way for a possible election, after a simmering immigration debate spilled over into a full-scale political crisis. Balkenende tendered the resignation to the head of state, Queen Beatrix.
The maximum-earnings ceiling for contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will on Saturday increase from R10 966 to R11 662 per month, the Department of Labour said on Friday. ”All workers who earn above the maximum level will only contribute up to the maximum,” the department said in a media statement.
Lleyton Hewitt breathed a huge sigh of relief on Friday after keeping his Wimbledon campaign alive by completing a marathon five-set victory over South Korea’s Lee Hyung-Taik. In total, the Australian was on court for five minutes short of four hours — far from ideal preparation for Saturday’s third-round meeting with Belgian Olivier Rochus.
The United States ”expects” Iran to respond next week to an international offer to defuse the nuclear stand-off between Tehran and the West, the number three in the US State Department said on Friday. US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said he hopes for the response next Wednesday.
Torrential rain brought Nigeria’s main city of Lagos virtually to a standstill on Friday as streets, flooded with more than 50cm of water in places, blocked traffic. A cloudburst over the commercial capital of 16-million people was followed by ceaseless rain, inundating residential and business districts alike, notably Victoria Island, which lies below sea level.
Petrol will go up by 25 cents a litre at midnight on Wednesday, the Department of Minerals and Energy announced on Friday. That means 95-octane unleaded petrol will now cost R6,73 a litre in Gauteng, 93-octane unleaded petrol and lead-replacement petrol will cost R6,61, and 91-octane unleaded petrol will cost R6,60.
South Africa recorded a deficit of R7,005-billion for its trade with non-Southern African Customs Union trading partners in May after a deficit of R2,418-billion in April, according to Customs and Excise figures released on Friday. An economist said: "I can’t believe it — but the explanation for part of it is the imports of oil."
The police ordered into the Jeppestown incident to face 20 armed murderers were used as cannon fodder, the official opposition Democratic Alliance said on Friday. This follows a South African Cabinet statement sending condolences to the families of police personnel killed at Jeppestown. Four members of the South African Police Service lost their lives.
The hard-line Muslim leaders who control much of southern Somalia claimed nationwide authority, while the latest message attributed to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden describes the Horn of Africa nation as a battleground in his global war on the United States.