The state should be asked to pay Jacob Zuma’s legal fees, the tripartite alliance said on Thursday after discussing the controversy over the axed former deputy president the day before. South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande said the recent raids by the Scorpions on Zuma’s residences were also condemned.
Tropical Storm Katrina strengthened on Thursday as it trudged toward Florida’s heavily populated south-eastern coast, and forecasters expected it to become a weak hurricane before making landfall overnight. As the wind gained speed, the storm’s forward pace slowed, and it could drop 30cm of rain or more as it creeps across the peninsula.
A Kenyan court in Narok on Thursday charged two men with capital offenses in a brazen armed attack on a group of Japanese, South African and United States tourists in the country’s famed Maasai Mara game reserve this week. The pair, who were escorted into the courtroom under tight security, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At least 18 people were killed in western Zimbabwe on Thursday when a bus burst a front tyre and crashed near a bridge while racing another bus, state radio reported. Police spokesperson Bothwell Mugariri told the radio that the accident occurred when two buses from the same bus company ”were racing each other”.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has long complained of press criticism. But he sought to turn the tables on Thursday with a new tactic — sounding a buzzer every time reporters ask questions he deems ”not constructive”. On several occasions in the past, Thaksin has been angered by critical questions.
”I am devastated … This is a principal’s worst nightmare,” is how the principal of the Dennegeur Primary School in Strandfontein, Cape Town, reacted when asked about an accident that claimed the life of four of his pupils and a bus driver on Thursday. Another 25 pupils suffered various injuries, of which four were in a serious condition.
Namibia’s biggest graft scandal since independence has claimed the job of a government minister and led to the apparent suicide of a key witness, an official and press reports said on Thursday. Deputy Minister of Works, Transport and Communication Paulus Kapia quit on Wednesday night.
The trial in Zimbabwe of a controversial Anglican bishop hit a snag on Thursday when defence lawyers requested further particulars on the charges he faces. Bishop Nolbert Kunonga of Harare, a staunch supporter of President Robert Mugabe, is accused of incitement to murder, among other offences.
After more than a week of campaigning, the Egyptian people have been greeted with the unfamiliar sight of several different presidential candidates asking for their vote. This is the first time the country has ever had a multicandidate presidential campaign. Candidates have held several election events throughout the country.
About R1,2-billion of public hospital fees are still outstanding from the 2004/05 financial year, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday. ”An astonishing 68% of fees billed for the 2004/05 financial year were not paid,” said DA health spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard. The DA found that only R560-million (32%) was paid.