I can pretty well pinpoint the moment when my own spirit of defiance started to fade. It was on Saturday morning. I was with the dog in the park opposite our house watching two uniformed policeman comb the undergrowth. After the July 7 bombings much was made of London’s defiance towards the terrorists. But now the capital’s mood is less sure.
Stranded in the belly of an underground parking garage in central Johannesburg, just a stone’s throw from Constitution Hill, groups of men huddle in corners talking quietly. They are eating their only meal of the day, soup and bread delivered by the Methodist Church soup kitchen.
The story of South Africa’s tabloids is not about headlines on witches and snakes. It’s not about page three girls. It’s not even about comparisons with the international tabloid market. What it is about is ”the man in the blue overall” and the no-bullshit talk of people like Deon du Plessis. Kevin Bloom reports.
Opposition leaders in Côte d’Ivoire said on Wednesday they were appealing to South African President Thabo Mbeki over planned rules for the upcoming presidential election. Their appeal to Mebeki arises from decrees by President Laurent Gbahgo giving responsibility for determining eligibility to vote, establishing lists and issuing electors’ cards.
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Land reform in South Africa needs to be managed in a statutory framework that is just and fair to all, AgriSA executive director Hans van der Merwe told the land summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Van der Merwe said because land reform is a national interest, its cost should be borne by the Treasury.
A major fire was raging on Wednesday at an offshore oil drilling platform in the Arabian Sea owned by India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the country’s oil minister said. He said as many as 200 to 300 people could have been working on the platform.
Witnesses called to testify in the Leigh Matthews murder trial provided the court with gripping facts on Wednesday, contradicting Donovan Moodley’s claims that he didn’t move Matthews’s body after he shot her in cold blood. On Monday, Moodley (25) was found guilty of kidnapping, extortion and the murder of Matthews.
Egyptian investigators have found connections between the deadly bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh and another wave of attacks last October on Sinai resorts further north, security sources said on Wednesday. A senior police source also said Egypt was warned following the July 7 London bombings that the Red Sea resort could be targeted.
A Pretoria man claimed on Wednesday he is the world’s real champion blood donor and that a Guinness record of 350 pints set in Johannesburg on Tuesday is not genuine. Lionel Lewis (72) provided a South African National Blood Service document showing he has donated 368 pints.