The Lesotho government will relax the restrictions of the curfew it imposed after a spate of attacks on Cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili said on Tuesday. Briefing the media in Cape Town after meeting South African President Thabo Mbeki at Tuynhuys, Mosisili said the curfew, which was imposed on Saturday, will now be modified.
A suicide truck bomber killed 78 people when he rammed his vehicle into a Shi’ite mosque in Baghdad on Tuesday, just hours after the United States military deployed 10Â 000 soldiers in a major offensive. The offensive around the city of Baquba in Diyala province is partly aimed at taking down al-Qaeda car-bomb networks.
The case of Annanias Mathe, the Mozambican national charged with escaping from Pretoria’s C-Max prison, was postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. The case was postponed to July 16 for a provisional date to ”centralise” all the charges against Mathe.
The long-awaited new Mokala National Park in the Northern Cape was officially proclaimed by Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk on Tuesday. The establishment of this new park near Plooysberg, south-west of Kimberley, came as a result of a successful land claim made on a section of the old Vaalbos National Park.
Boxing history will be made when Cassius Baloyi and Manuel Medina meet for the International Boxing Organisation junior lightweight title at Emperors Palace on July 5. The fight, which will also serve as a final eliminator for the IBF title, will set an unprecedented record in boxing as the two have been involved in a combined 44 world-title bouts.
South African banks expect further demands for increased transparency, similar to those overseas, on pricing and product comparisons, a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey on banking in South Africa — <i>Strategic and Emerging Issues in South African Banking</i> — shows.
State media in Zimbabwe on Tuesday accused veterinary authorities in South Africa of racism after 100 cattle belonging to villagers living on the border between the two countries were allegedly shot dead by South African soldiers. The official Herald newspaper said the incident, which Zimbabwean police describe as cruel and deliberate, occurred earlier this month.
Transnet has sold its housing loan book to the FirstRand group for R1,4-billion, its chief executive, Maria Ramos, announced in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Ramos said the sale of the non-core asset — which had been in process since October 2006 — was part of the company’s turnaround strategy that focused on freight transport.
Police arrested about 500 protesting street traders outside the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following clashes in which a water cannon, pepper spray and stun grenades were used. Police spokesperson Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu could not immediately say exactly how many people were arrested, but estimated the number was about 500.
A coalition of technology companies and environmental groups led by Google and Intel launched an initiative on Tuesday to help conserve electricity and curb global warming emissions by making the world’s computers and servers more energy efficient. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative sets ambitious industry targets.