Three men who murdered a Soshanguve priest during a hijacking in 2001 were on Wednesday sentenced by the Pretoria High Court to life in jail. Boetie Mashego, Lucky Choma and Tsholofelo Seome calmly looked at the large number of faithful who had gathered to hear their fate, and even smiled before they were led down the steps to the court cells.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was weaker in noon trade on Thursday, dragged down by a stronger rand and softer world markets. Losses were most pronounced on the Top 40 index, where decliners outpaced advancers by about five to two. By 11.57am, the all-share index was down 0,46%.
A computer failure at a British air-traffic control centre grounded many of the country’s flights on Thursday morning, delaying thousands of travellers. The system was running again two hours later, but airports said the backlog of flights would cause serious delays throughout the day.
The police investigation into the rapes of three women and the murders of two of the women and a baby was incomplete, the Temba Circuit High Court heard on Thursday. Defence Advocate Janus Roothman argued that the police’s investigation had been incomplete and this had led to discrepancies.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=67238">Guilty plea in high-profile murder case</a>
The South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) Business Confidence Index maintained a relatively high level in May, dropping slightly to 123,6 from 124 in April. The index measured more than 20 index points above the level recorded in May 2003.
Incidents of sexual abuse, particularly of children, appear to be on the rise in Uganda. However, this apparent increase has not been matched by a similar rise in prosecutions. Instead, many families are still choosing to settle the cases out of court — despite the effect this could have on abuse victims.
Up to half of all women in Turkey are subjected to ”scandalous” levels of violence, mostly from their own families, Amnesty International claimed onn Wednesday in Istanbul. Despite the country’s eagerness to join the EU, the government and judicial authorities not only tolerated but even endorsed heinous ”crimes of honour”, the human rights group said.
Saudi Arabia dissolved several Riyadh-based Islamic charities on Wednesday after criticism from the Unites States that funds had been channelled to al-Qaeda and other militant groups. The crackdown came amid continuing violence in the country which added to nervousness among expatriates and oil traders.
Ariel Sharon on Wednesday said he will put his plan to withdraw all Jewish settlers and Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank to a Cabinet vote on Sunday that could decide the future of the government. The Israeli prime minister said he is confident of winning even though he lacked a majority for his plan at this week’s Cabinet meeting.
The Zimbabwe government, which has said it has produced enough grain to feed its people, is importing millions of dollars worth of the staple maize grain, a local privately owned paper said on Wednesday. ”Yes, we are importing maize,” Samuel Muvhuti, the acting chief executive officer of the country’s sole state-owned grain marketer, the Grain Marketing Board old the Daily Mirror.
Schools spring up on farms