A German court on Tuesday quashed the hopes of a group of naturists who wanted to cycle along the Rhine river wearing nothing more than a smile. The group of 12 naturists was planning to cycle along the Rhine in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on Saturday as part of what it was dubbing "World Nude Cycling Day".
A German woman was astonished to find deutschemark banknotes and account savings books worth €100 000 (R821 000) tucked in the lining of an old washing basket she bought at a flea market. The woman, from Bavaria, bought the basket for just €7 (R57),
Hundreds of police were deployed in the Zimbabwean capital on Wednesday and army units were reportedly on standby before a two-day strike called by critics of President Robert Mugabe to protest his clampdown on street traders and slum dwellers.
The bulk carrier Kiperousa is still aground by the stern off the Eastern Cape coast and is awaiting a salvage tanker from Cape Town, the National Ports Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday. Shortly after 11am on Tuesday, a Mayday signal was put out by the vessel and a massive rescue operation was launched.
An official from Zimbabwe’s ruling party has told a court in Harare he was tortured into making statements over his alleged role in selling state secrets to South Africa. Kenny Karidza, a security official in President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party was arrested with four other top party members in December.
The MPs and travel agents charged in connection with Travelgate, the parliamentary travel-voucher scam, will go to trial in the Cape High Court on July 31 next year, if the National Prosecuting Authority has its way. But lawyers for most of the accused said on Wednesday that they intend to fight the move to transfer the case to the high court.
Japan is set to lift its last blanket ban on female employment and let women work in mines and tunnels, defying not only traditional male attitudes about protecting women but also superstition. Women are barred from working in mines and pits or constructing tunnels under the Labour Standard Law of 1947.
The Scorpions are questioning eight people in connection with an e-mail scam that targeted customers at South African banks last month, a Standard Bank spokesperson said on Wednesday. Erik Larsen said the eight are all South Africans and that there have been no further attacks since the scam was exposed in late May.
Burundi’s lone remaining rebel group launched overnight attacks on government military bases on the outskirts of the capital after reruns of key local elections in six violence-hit districts, the army said on Wednesday. Rebels from the National Liberation Forces opened fire on several positions just south of Bujumbura.
Aflease Gold and Uranium Resources has announced it has signed a milestone black economic empowerment (BEE) deal with a broad-based consortium, with major benefits going to both workers and communities. The empowerment partners will acquire 26% of Aflease’s current exploration and mining activities and prospecting areas in the Klerksdorp region.