BP said on Thursday petrol pumps had started running dry at some of its outlets on the fourth day of a multi-industry strike, as South Africa’s largest oil refinery faced a possible shutdown. BP spokesperson Zipporah Mothoa said delivery of stocks to petrol outlets had been ”gravely impacted” because workers in the distribution chain were on strike.
A Sicilian mother took away her 61-year-old son’s house keys, cut off his allowance and hauled him to the police station because he stayed out late. Tired of her son’s misbehaviour, the pensioner in the central Sicilian city of Caltagirone turned to the police to ”convince this blockhead” to behave properly, La Sicilia reported on Thursday.
Sierra Leone’s United Nations-backed Special Court convicted two former leaders of a pro-government militia on Thursday for war crimes, but acquitted them of some of the most serious charges of crimes against humanity. The two were leaders of the Civil Defence Forces, which fought for President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in a 1991 to 2002 civil war.
The trial of Andrew Jordaan, the man accused of murdering seven-year-old Sheldean Human, will commence in the Pretoria High Court in March next year. Jordaan appeared briefly in court on Thursday, but was not asked to plead to charges of murder, abduction, rape and the illegal possession of dagga.
It would be dangerous for the government to stay out of the South African economy, taking into account the country’s history, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said on Thursday. Speaking at the launch of the National Industrial Policy Framework, Mpahlwa said the plan would help the government address some of the legacies in the economy.
"The <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i> nudged you from <i>Facebook</i>! ‘You can now send free SMSs to all your friends worldwide.’ Invite UR Friends 2 Nudge Them!" You have just been "nudged". Normally this message would apear on the screen of your cellphone when it is sent through a new application on <i>Facebook</i>.
A woman who was crying as a rapist removed her bikini pants was told by the man to ”shut up” or he would ”blow” her head off, the Scottburgh High Court heard on Thursday. The woman was the third of three rape victims to give testimony before the court in a trial in which three men are accused of rape.
Task teams have been established to investigate bomb attacks on ATMs in every province where they have taken place, police said on Thursday. National police spokesperson Superintendent Ronnie Naidoo said each province had its own task team to investigate the ATM bombings. The task teams were coordinated at national level, he said.
The African Union met Thursday to encourage member states to put more troops into the Darfur peacekeeping mission approved by the United Nations Security Council. Ambassadors to the pan-African body gathered at its Addis Ababa headquarters to discuss the force, which faces the daunting task of stabilising the war-torn western Sudanese region.
A powerful typhoon slammed into southern Japan on Thursday, injuring three people, disrupting air and land traffic and cutting power to thousands of houses. Packing winds of up to 144km/h and bringing heavy rains, typhoon Usagi landed on the coast of Kyushu Island shortly before 6pm local time from the Pacific, the meteorological agency said.