One of France’s most popular rappers will appear in court on Monday charged with offending public decency with a song in which he referred to France as a ”slut” and vowed to ”piss” on Napoleon and Charles de Gaulle. Monsieur R, whose real name is Richard Makela, could face three years in prison or a â,¬75 000 fine.
Tens of thousands of refugees begged for shelter and hundreds of international workers were evacuated from East Timor on Sunday as an army rebellion spilled over into gang violence and ethnic unrest in the capital, Dili. Dozens of homes and businesses were torched and plumes of smoke rose above the skyline, as gangs built makeshift barricades to mark out their territories.
At least 39 people were killed in an bloody explosion of violence across Iraq on Monday, including a spate of bombings against buses carrying people to work. The attacks underlined the parlous security situation in Iraq as agreement on the key defence and interior ministries remained elusive, despite the formation of a new government on May 20.
Standard Bank has become aware of a growing number of cyber-crime incidents taking place at internet cafés and other public places that offer internet services. On Monday it urged customers not to use computer facilities that they are not familiar with.
More than 2 100 officials of Gauteng’s housing and local government department might be investigated after fraud of more than R133-million in the allocation of housing subsidies was revealed, Beeld reported on Monday. These officials have received R32,8-million in subsidies, despite earning more than the minimum a family has to earn to qualify.
Members of the trade union National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) elected a new leadership during the organisation’s twelfth congress on the weekend. NUM president Senzeni Zokwana was re-elected and the congress elected Frans Baleni as the union’s new general secretary. The congress bade farewell to its outgoing general secretary, Gwede Mantashe.
Germany’s seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has hit out at the critics who accused him of deliberately crashing his car to prevent anyone beating his qualifying time for Sunday’s Monte Carlo Grand Prix. ”I am used to being criticised, but sometimes people are too quick to pass judgement,” Schumacher said.
At least 52 people were killed in a bloody explosion of violence across Iraq on Monday, including a spate of bombings against buses carrying people to work. The attacks underlined the parlous security situation in Iraq as agreement on the key defence and interior ministries remained elusive despite the formation of a new government on May 20.
West Indies cruised to a 19-run victory over India on Sunday, wrapping up a 4-1 one-day series victory after a fine all-round batting and bowling display. Chasing 256 runs from their 50 overs to win, India were dismissed for 236 in 48 overs to leave West Indies buoyant heading into next month’s four-Test series.
A compensation fund for workers injured or killed in Sasol’s September 2004 blast was launched in Johannesburg on Monday. Qualifying victims of the accident and the dependants of those who died can submit applications for compensation to the September 2004 Accident Trust.