Depending on whom you believe, it is either an exposé of ”the secret world of the president’s stealth counsellor”, or a valentine of ”fluffball quotes”. The disagreement will probably only help sales of a biography of Laura Bush, published today after weeks of anticipation.
A jury found on Monday that Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be prosecuted in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, was eligible for the death penalty. The verdict, after less than three days of deliberation, comes as a boost to federal prosecutors, who had seen their case almost derailed by the alleged coaching of witnesses by a government lawyer.
Blood spattered dockets lay strewn around the offices of the Kagiso police station in Krugersdorp after four policemen were shot dead by a senior police officer on Monday night. The police officer — who went on a rampage killing eight people — was shot dead by police in Sebokeng in the early hours of Tuesday morning after an extensive manhunt.
Jared Nissim wanted to make one thing clear. ”This is definitely not a dating service,” the 32-year-old New Yorker explained, as a motley group of 18 men and women, many unknown to each other, gathered around a long table at a Manhattan restaurant.
Top United States film director John McTiernan, the maker of such blockbusters as the Die Hard movies, was charged on Monday in connection with a fast-spreading Hollywood wiretapping scandal. McTiernan (55) is the 14th person to be charged in a snowballing criminal investigation that has threatened to envelop some major stars over alleged phone bugging.
The Department of Correctional Services does not know how rife HIV/Aids is in South Africa’s 240 prisons, but will shortly undertake a national HIV prevalence survey in a bid to ”allay speculation”. The survey will be piloted in Gauteng during April and May. Based on these results, it will be expanded nationally.
Manala Manzini, the newly appointed Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), will have his work cut out turning the tide at the demoralised intelligence service. President Thabo Mbeki appointed Manzini to take over the hot seat left by former head of the NIA Billy Masetlha, implicated in the hoax e-mail saga.
Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor, once one of Africa’s most feared strongmen, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of crimes against humanity over years of atrocities in Sierra Leone. ”Most definitely, I’m not guilty,” Taylor told Judge Richard Lussick at the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.
South Africa is in no hurry to send ousted president Jean Bertrand Aristide back to Haiti without first securing agreement from the new president, the foreign minister said on Monday. ”South Africa as the host country is still willing to have Jean Bertrand Aristide here,” Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said.
The third Castle Lager Test between South Africa and Australia at the Wanderers was on a knife-edge when bad light stopped play about twenty minutes early on Monday. When the players left the field Australia were 248-6 and needed another 44 runs for victory. Australia took just 13 minutes and 15 balls to wrap up South Africa’s second innings.