South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has announced that five members of Parliament "involved in the travel investigation" — now known as Travelgate — have resigned from Parliament. They are Ruth Bhengu, Mildred Mpaka, Rhoda Joemat, Pamela Mnandi and Mavis Magazi.
South Africa’s Rugby World Cup squad from 1995 shared the magic of their historic triumph at a 10-Year celebration dinner held at the Sandton Convention Centre on Wednesday. Captain Francois Pienaar and the full squad joined 1 500 prominent personalities and guests at an event aimed at reliving a momentous achievement in South Africa’s history.
The Democratic Alliance says it has evidence which suggests President Thabo Mbeki held a secret meeting with French arms manufacturer Thomson-CSF in 1998, when he was chairperson of the ministerial committee in charge of the arms deal.
Groundbreaking legislation on childrens’ rights was approved by the National Assembly on Wednesday — nine years after it was first mooted. The Children’s Bill lowers the age of majority from 21 years to 18, outlaws virginity testing, paves the way for a register of child abusers and cracks down on child trafficking.
Sony’s PlayStation Portable is revelling in its status as this year’s must-have gadget. Gamers everywhere lust after its sleek lines and smooth curves — but beneath the hype, the PSP has suddenly found itself embroiled in a darker story. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is trying to get a high court injunction against a number of British companies to stop them importing the PSP from outside Europe.
A nurse accused of injecting her stepson with HIV-contaminated blood in January last year will appear in the Mhala Regional court on Thursday, Limpopo police said. Captain Moatshe Ngoepe said the woman — a nurse from Matikwane Hospital near Bushbuckridge — was arrested on January 17, 2004, after the now six-year-old boy told his biological mother she had injected him.
The Department of Water Affairs on Wednesday supplied MPs with a timetable showing key dates in their plan to reform the way water is supplied to users in South Africa, a process it hopes to complete by 2013. The plan aims to shift the primary responsibility for provision of water services from national government to more than 200 local and regional water service authorities.
The war in Iraq is creating a new breed of Islamic jihadists who could go on to destabilise other countries, according to a CIA report. The CIA believes Iraq to be potentially worse than Afghanistan, which produced thousands of jihadists in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the recruits to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda had fought in Afghanistan.
An elephant handler was killed by a bull elephant at the Knysna Elephant Park on Tuesday during a morning excursion, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said on Wednesday. The incident at the park also raises questions regarding the safety of South Africa’s burgeoning elephant-back safari and tourism industry.
The refloating of the bulk carrier Kiperousa, stranded on the Eastern Cape coast, will begin at about noon on Thursday, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said. Samsa spokesperson Captain Peter Kroon said the fine weather in the East London area will assist in refloating the beached vessel.