General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the former communist leader of Poland, is to stand trial for ”communist crimes” 25 years after he tried to crush the Solidarity trade union, declared a ”state of war” in Poland and jailed tens of thousands. Jaruzelski has always argued that his decision to impose martial law was the lesser of two evils.
President Thabo Mbeki has rejected a request by Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon for a commission of inquiry into aspects of South Africa’s intelligence agencies. Leon had asked for a probe into the activities of the intelligence structures in the wake of the African National Congress hoax e-mail scandal.
It was supposed to be an evening cruise to celebrate the completion of one of the Gulf kingdom’s most prestigious building projects, the twin towers of the Bahrain World Trade Centre. But even before the ship, an old Arab dhow, left the dock near the Marina Club at Manama, there were signs that something was wrong.
Commuters angered by bus-fare increases have burnt three North West Star buses in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Saturday. Commuters were protesting on Friday night against the increases, which come into effect on Saturday.
Construction company Murray & Roberts Holdings late on Friday afternoon released the names of the South Africans killed in the Bahrain ferry disaster. Fifty-seven people were killed when a ferry capsized while on a pleasure cruise on Thursday night.
Soccer star Benedict Vilakazi was acquitted on charges of rape and statutory rape in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported. Earlier, the state asked the court to drop the charge of rape but retain the charge of statutory rape.
South Africa struggled to 238-6 on the first day of the third and final Castle Lager Test at the Wanderers on Friday, losing two wickets in each session. Having won the toss, Jacques Kallis, leading the team in the absence of Graeme Smith, who has an injured finger, chose to bat first. Although it was sunny at first, the clouds soon gathered.
Riaz Kadwa, the son of murdered Park Lane Clinic plastic surgeon Mohamed Anwar Kadwa, confessed to Muslim religious leaders to killing his father. The Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court heard in a testimony from Inspector Lappies Labuschagne that Kadwa told them that he had shot his father because his father had killed his mother.
A late try by Stormers flanker Luke Watson denied Western Force their first Super 14 rugby win by the narrowest of margins in Perth on Friday. The South Africans were trailing 25-21 with just four minutes left when Watson crashed over to give them a 26-25 win over the luckless newcomers. The relief for the visitors was as palpable as the disappointment for the Force.
Echoing the message of his last weekly newsletter, President Thabo Mbeki on Friday called on members of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) to serve the people of South Africa ”with no expectation of reward in terms of personal wealth, power, position or prestige”.