Explosions and gunfire erupted inside the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf on Friday as United States forces sought to crush the last major insurgency in Iraq ahead of the June 30 return of sovereignty. Meanwhile, more allegations of torture surfaced at the infamous US-run Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad.
US forces taught torture techniques
Millionaire farmer and coup plotter Lourens du Plessis on Friday told the Boeremag treason trial in Pretoria he does not think blacks are the problem in the country ”because our fight is not against flesh and blood but against evil spirits in the air”. Du Plessis said he has undergone a religious change after being arrested for treason.
The Eastern Cape health department on Friday launched its provincial anti-retroviral roll-out to HIV-positive patients in that region. Eastern Cape minister of health Dr Bevan Goqwana was at the launch of the province’s ”comprehensive” rollout plan at Settlers hospital in Grahamstown.
The Namibian government has told a first group of farmers they must sell their property under land reforms that some fear could wreak as much havoc with agriculture as a similar programme did in Zimbabwe. Land Minister Hifikepunye Pohamba this week sent letters to about 10 white farm owners.
The trial of Zambia’s former president Frederick Chiluba — who is accused of stealing -million in state funds — was adjourned on Friday because one of his co-accused has fled the country. The state said it was still trying to arrest Atan Shansonga, a former Zambian ambassador to the United States.
Oil prices eased on Friday, a day after rocketing to the highest close with markets fretting about terrorism fears in the Middle East and tight stocks of United States gasoline. The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for June delivery fell 11 cents to ,38 in early London trading.
The government intends to create a ”lot of pressure” within the private banking sector by forcing it match the savings interest rates of the newly launched RSA Retail Bond launched on Friday in Pretoria, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said. The public has the option to purchase one of three bond types.
Kidnap victim Jameel Pandor is back at his parents’ Durban home after being treated in hospital following his release, his father said on Friday. Pandor senior, a wealthy businessman, said his son had been kept blindfolded and handcuffed throughout his ordeal, but had otherwise been treated quite well.
One of the Conrad Botes’s works has Jesus, the "Good Shepherd", bringing home the lost sheep of the flock — except the sheep is a giant phallus. Botes’s first solo show in Johannesburg is as provocative as ever. He spoke to Shaun de Waal.
Cashless Society pioneered the struggle for hip-hop’s emergence in South Africa long before Pitch Black Afro bought an Afro. The bling lifestyle eludes SA’s most sought-after hip-hop outfit — they are more about the street than stardom, writes Brian Paseka Letlhabane.