Missing police constable Frances Rasuge laid and withdrew rape charges against murder accused William Nkuna three months before she disappeared, the Mmbatho Circuit Court heard on Tuesday. She subsequently filed a withdrawal statement on May 24 and the charges were withdrawn three days later.
Former West Ham, Manchester City and Everton midfielder Mark Ward was jailed for eight years for drug trafficking on Tuesday. Ward, who retired from the game nine years ago, pleaded guilty to possessing four kilograms of cocaine with intent to supply at his rented home near Liverpool.
Efforts to help people with HIV/Aids in Côte d’Ivoire have been hampered by three years of conflict and lack of funds, making it the hardest hit nation in West Africa, health officials have warned. Health Minister Albert Mabri Toikeusse said most foreign donors have suspended or halted funding.
A former veteran of Zimbabwe’s independence war has come under fierce criticism for setting up a fund to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association said it had taken over the fund set up by controversial former guerrilla Joseph Chinotimba who wanted to raise Z-billion (,1-million).
Americans Roy J Glauber and John L Hall as well as German Theodor W Haensch won the 2005 Nobel Physics Prize for groundbreaking work on understanding light, a quest as old as humanity itself, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Tuesday. The laureates will receive a gold medal and share a cheque for ,3-million.
A judge in Texas has banned a teenage drug offender from having sex as part of her probation, as long as she is living with her parents and attending school. Christina Brazier (17) pleaded guilty to possession of drugs, a crime which carries up to 10 years in jail and a 000 fine.
The French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, faces his first big wave of unrest as an expected 1,5-million public- and private-sector workers take to the streets on Tuesday to protest at worsening social conditions and unpopular economic reforms.
Advocate Cezanne Visser pretended to be a married woman in order to gain supervision over two children who were later allegedly abused, the Pretoria High Court heard on Tuesday. Social worker Annemarie Malan was testifying in the sex-crimes trial of Visser and Dirk Prinsloo.
An African National Congress mayor and a councillor in Bothaville, respectively facing charges of attempted murder and assault, have been suspended, the party announced on Tuesday. Controversial Nala mayor Godfrey ”Baarde” Tsoai and another councillor, Khumisi Letsoara, have been suspended as councillors and party members.
Firefighters on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast were on Tuesday monitoring the situation in a pine plantation in the Nyalazi area outside Mtubatuba after they managed to extinguish a ”vicious” fire that started on Sunday. ”We are still assessing the situation and the damage,” said a supervisor for protection services in the area.