Nearly three dozen people have been arrested during the last 10 days in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) province of Katanga, officials said on Monday. They include Andre Tshombe, son of Moise Tshombe, who led a breakaway rebellion in Katanga in the early 1960s.
The International Monetary Fund on Monday said Malawi’s government has asked for international aid following a poor harvest of its staple maize crop. Malawi needs 2,1-million tonnes of maize each year to feed its 11-million people. Drought has reduced this year’s harvest to 1,3-million tonnes.
A German who stabbed and dismembered his gay lover, stored some of his organs in the fridge to eat later and fed other body parts to his cat was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Tuesday. The case has drawn comparisons with a cannibal trial that intrigued and appalled Germany last year.
Rescuers have found the body of a miner trapped nearly 2km underground at Driefontein gold mine in Carletonville, a Gold Fields spokesperson said. Ten miners were initially trapped in the mine’s Number 2 shaft after a seismic event of 3,2 on the Richter scale shook the mine at about 7.40am.
Eskom has lit up the night, albeit with only a ”dim flicker”, at a farm dam in the Western Cape’s Overberg in a bid to stop blue cranes flying into nearby power lines. The power lines, on the farm Hillside near Caledon, have been responsible for the deaths of at least 30 of the elegant birds in the past eight years.
The expected R33-billion inflow from the Barclays/Absa deal could boost South Africa’s gross domestic product growth by as much as 0,5% for a couple of years, according to Absa’s chief economist, Christo Luus. He says Barclays’ bid for a 60% stake in local bank Absa reflects heightened foreign investor confidence in the local economy.
The South Africa-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, to be launched on Thursday, aims to address the challenges faced by South African companies doing business in the continent’s biggest market and to help them understand and adapt to Nigeria’s rules and culture, which differ markedly from South Africa’s.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday said he would delay the forcible removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza strip until mid-August in deference to a religious commemoration. Israeli law requires the estimated 8 000 Jews living in the territory to leave by July 20.
An Irish fisherman hooked more than he bargained for when a suspiciously heavy catch turned out to be a large package of cannabis, part of a submerged haul worth €400 000 (R3,1-million). Police said on Tuesday they are investigating the origin of the drugs haul.
Nelson Mandela has filed a lawsuit against a former associate and a businessman for selling forgeries of his artwork for millions of dollars, his lawyer said on Tuesday. The lawsuit targets the elder statesman’s ex-lawyer Ismail Ayob and his business associate Ross Calder, who are accused of selling fake artworks bearing the magic Mandela moniker.