Saddam Hussein dismissed his trial as a ”comedy” when he testified for the first time on Wednesday in a case that could see him and his seven co-accused hanged for crimes against humanity. The ousted Iraqi leader also called for resistance to the United States-led occupation, prompting Chief Judge Rauf Abdel Rahman to order the session closed.
An earth tremor shook parts of eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique on Wednesday, less than three weeks after an earthquake hit the same area, state television said. ”There was an earth tremor in some parts of the country at around 2pm,” the state-controlled Newsnet said.
Soldiers and police in Chad have thwarted an overnight bid to overthrow President Idriss Deby Itno’s regime and kill him by shooting down his aircraft, the government spokesperson said on Wednesday. Communications Minister Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor told a press briefing that ”a coup attempt was foiled”.
Khutsong residents are not accepting their fate regarding the government’s decision to incorporate their municipality into the North West province. Instead they plan to challenge the government in the Constitutional Court on March 30. Khutsong is preparing to battle it out in the courts to remain part of Gauteng.
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Jacob Zuma’s lawyer could ask that testimony by a top Gauteng police detective be declared inadmissible after he admitted to not following basic police procedure, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Wednesday.
Students and management at the North West University’s (NWU) Mafikeng campus were meeting the provincial education minister on Wednesday to resolve a dispute over unpaid student fees. ”The NWU is meeting with the MEC [provincial minister] Johannes Tselapedi,” said university spokesperson Phumzile Mmope.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas denied responsibility on Wednesday for a massive Israeli raid on Jericho jail, dismissing British and United States claims he had been warned they were withdrawing their protection. Two Palestinians security guards were killed and 26 wounded in the raid, five of them critically.
The Tshwane metropolitan municipality has more than halved the number of customers with municipal-account difficulties in the past three months, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday. ”Of the 36 438 customers affected with billing issues, 15 379 still remain to be fixed, ” said Renier du Toit.
The murdered granddaughter of Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe was laid to rest at Klipspruit cemetery in Johannesburg on Wednesday. After pallbearers lowered the white and gold casket into the grave, soft cries from her family could be heard by some of the hundreds of mourners attending.
Major drug companies are still not making life-saving drugs available to millions of people with HIV/Aids in the developing world, according to MSF.