Giant sunflowers lean against the modest office where Shad Begum, a feisty 27-year-old social worker, is plotting to win a seat in this month’s Pakistani local elections. But hers is no ordinary campaign. In this quiet northern valley, tradition and threats have forced Shad into an electoral profile so low it is almost invisible.
Embattled Independent Democrats member of the Western Cape legislature Lennit Max says he ”strongly denies” accusations that he has tried to draw out a disciplinary hearing against him in order for him to be able to defect to a new political home next month. He has merely tried to clear his name of allegations made against him, he said on Friday.
Union leaders will meet over the weekend to discuss the way forward in a strike that has left municipal workers without pay for a week. Both the South African Municipal Workers’ Union and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union said they are still considering a mediator’s proposal that both sides shift their demands.
The assault and rape of a three-year-old Cape Town girl this week, allegedly by a former inmate, is not an indication of failure of the Department of Correctional Services’ remission-of-sentences programme, the department said on Friday. Of the 67 800 prisoners released, the department said only 150 have been rearrested.
Zimbabwe’s state security agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation, is seeking to emulate South Africa’s apartheid-era information blitz by covertly taking over newspapers hitherto seen as independent of state control, the Zimbabwe Independent reported on Friday.
The Colombian army said on Friday it has seized -million-worth of cocaine belonging to leftist guerrillas that was hidden in a cove on the outskirts of a city near Venezuela’s border. Three people with suspected links to the National Liberation Army were arrested during the raid on Wednesday.
Diamond group De Beers Consolidated Mines on Friday confirmed that the National Union of Mineworkers has indicated its intention to declare a dispute with the company. According to De Beers, this follows a series of meetings between the parties on annual substantive negotiations.
The Cosafa Cup semifinal against Zambia on Saturday presents Bafana Bafana with an opportunity to cement a self-proclaimed reputation as the regional soccer super power. But for coach Stuart Baxter, a priority might be to see how the match will help him assemble the most effective squad for the vital World Cup qualifying game against Burkina Faso.
The countrywide strike by members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union is likely to end on Saturday, a KwaZulu-Natal union representative said. Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town has been granted a court order against Samwu strikers, and protests seem to have died down in the Free State and Gauteng.
With the JSE Securities Exchange galloping past the 15 200 mark after another meteoric rise of 22% so far this year, one has to question whether it is wise to be investing in shares at the moment. Or is the market reaching the sort of temperature that could cause burns?