A man who allegedly claimed over the internet to have had sex with a number of prominent South Africans appeared in the Kroonstad Magistrate’s Court on Monday. District court prosecutor Tanya Buitendag confirmed that Juan Uys appeared in court in connection with a warrant of arrest for theft in the Western Cape.
Cameroon’s opposition on Monday said ”massive fraud” marred the country’s legislative elections and vowed to challenge the results in court even as votes were still being counted. ”These elections were a catastrophe,” said Joseph Lavoisier Tsapy of the main opposition Social Democratic Front. ”On the whole, they were not different from previous elections.”
South Africa’s rampant crime is a major threat to the growth of the country’s tourism industry, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus Van Schalkwyk said on Monday. Speaking at a conference, Van Schalkwyk said crime is one of the main factors preventing potential tourists from visiting the country.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the scene of Britain’s worst flooding in 60 years on Monday as thousands of people remained stranded in their villages and towns, many without clean water or electricity. With swathes of central and western England under water and more rain on its way, Brown flew in a helicopter over the water-logged county of Gloucestershire.
A new alliance of Darfur factions urged rebel leaders on Monday to forego personal interests and unite to make peace with the Sudanese government. In a statement issued in the Eritrean capital of Asmara, the United Front for Liberation and Development demanded ”equal representation” for all rebel movements battling the Khartoum regime in Sudan’s western Darfur.
Businessman Billy Rautenbach, best known in South Africa and Botswana for his activities in assembling Hyundai cars, on Monday denied reports that he was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and deported to Zimbabwe. In a statement released on his behalf, Rautenbach confirmed that he was in the DRC last week.
Sasol has become the first company globally to register a nitrous oxide (N2O) abatement project that converts greenhouse gas N2O into harmless nitrogen and oxygen gases, the company announced on Monday. ”This project reflects our continuous drive to decrease the impact of our operations on the environment,” it said in a statement.
A woman in Zimbabwe had her leg broken in a crush of people desperate to buy scarce sugar following a delivery in the eastern town of Marondera, reports said on Monday. A queue about 800m long built up on Saturday outside a supermarket where 30 tonnes of sugar had just been delivered, said the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
A total of 1 136 patients were transferred from public to private hospitals during the public-sector strike at a cost of R24,9-million, the Department of Health said on Monday. The private hospital groups, which include Life Healthcare, Medi-Clinic and Netcare, agreed to charge lower fees.
The South African National Editors’ Forum has condemned the introduction of a Bill governing news coverage of national buildings and institutions as constitutionally incompatible. Sanef said the draft Key Points and Strategic Installations Bill of 2007 violated constitutional rights to freedom of expression.