Egypt on Thursday finally banned all female circumcision, the widely practised removal of the clitoris that just days ago cost the life of a 12-year-old girl. Officially the practice — which affects both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt — was banned in 1997, but doctors were allowed to operate ”in exceptional cases”.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is exploring the possibility of entering into a coalition with other parties in Parliament. The leader of the official opposition in the National Assembly, Sandra Botha, told the Cape Town Press Club on Thursday that a coalition brings ”more weight” to bear on important issues.
A group opposed to Potchefstroom’s expected name change to Tlokwe has threatened to ”punish” the town’s residents if the mayor doesn’t reverse the name-change procedure within 40 days, a mayoral spokesperson said on Thursday. Meanwhile, another street sign bearing former president Nelson Mandela’s name has been defaced.
The Cape High Court on Thursday jailed Dina Rodrigues and two accomplices for life for the baby Jordan-Leigh Norton contract murder. Judge Basheer Waglay said the murder, in June 2005, was ”calculated, callous and cold-blooded”, and ”cowardly and cruel in the extreme”.
A strike in the industrial chemicals and petroleum sector seems unavoidable after dispute negotiations came to naught this week, according to the trade union Solidarity. This could halt the production of petrol, gas and paraffin in the near future, it cautioned on Thursday.
Israeli President Moshe Katsav pleaded guilty on Thursday to committing sexual crimes against women employees in a plea bargain that will keep him out of jail, Israel’s Attorney General said. Under the deal, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz retreated from his stated intention to charge Katsav with rape.
A roadside bomb killed two soldiers in Somalia’s chaotic capital, Mogadishu, on Thursday, witnesses said, just hours after two aid workers were shot dead in an overnight attack in the north of the country. One woman at the scene of the blast said a vehicle carrying troops through a northern district of the city was lifted into the air by the powerful explosion.
Springboks coach Jake White on Thursday defended his controversial selection policy of bringing an under-strength squad to play the Wallabies and All Blacks in next month’s Tri-Nations Tests. The South Africans arrived in Sydney Thursday minus 24 leading players, who White said were either injured or being rested ahead of September’s World Cup in France.
South Africa’s champion amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who runs with carbon-fibre blades below both knees, will take on Olympic and world 400m champion Jeremy Wariner in his international top-flight debut against able-bodied athletes. Pistorius is fighting for the right to compete in the Beijing Olympic Games.
Alt-X listed DataPro Group has obtained shareholder approval to change its name to Vox Telecom, the company said on Thursday. The change is consistent with the company’s strategy of positioning itself as an alternative telecom operator offering a broad portfolio of voice and data services, it said.