Pakistan said on Monday that Osama bin Laden was likely to be in Afghanistan, rejecting a reported claim by Kabul’s foreign minister that the al-Qaeda chief is hiding in Pakistani territory. In the latest verbal salvo between the neighbours, Islamabad dismissed criticism by new Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta of its attempts to catch Bin Laden.
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The Durban High Court has dismissed a bid by arms company Thint for further particulars on the corruption charges it is to face alongside former deputy president Jacob Zuma. However, Thint attorney Ajay Sooklal said the court’s decision amounts to a ”postponement of the matter”.
Teachers may search anyone on school property without a search warrant, the Department of Education said in Pretoria on Monday at a meeting following a month of violence in schools that has resulted in the deaths of at least two pupils and numerous injuries through stabbings and gun violence.
Talks between striking security guards and their employers were in progress in Johannesburg on Monday, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) said. The talks started at noon. On Monday, Satawu spokesperson Ronnie Mamba said the talks would carry on as planned.
Surveillance cameras have led to an 80% drop in fraud at First National Bank’s (FNB) ATMs, the bank said on Monday. FNB ATM chief executive officer Mike Arnold said cameras had been installed at 75 FNB ATMs countrywide. ”FNB’s investment in this system has saved customers and the bank large sums of money,” said Arnold.
United States and Iraqi forces said on Monday they had killed 47 suspected insurgents, including an al-Qaeda member wanted over the downing of a US helicopter, and arrested about 260 in weekend raids. The wanted man, Abu Mustafa, was killed along with 15 other alleged rebels in a series of raids, the US military said.
Urgent blood donations are needed after 62 people were injured when a bus overturned outside Durban on Monday morning, Durban metro police said. Four people were hospitalised in critical condition and two of them lost their limbs on the scene. Fifty-eight were in a serious condition.
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The African National Congress said on Monday that its deputy president, Jacob Zuma, would be resuming his duties ”without delay” after he stepped down from active duty while his rape trial was under way. Zuma was acquitted of rape in the Johannesburg High Court on May 8.
It is interesting, curious and instructive that our first stop on arrival on the actual island of Zanzibar was a bar/restaurant called "Mercury’s". This is a Euro-American establishment named after one of the island’s most famous sons — Freddie Mercury, lead singer and inspiration of the wildly successful British band Queen.
The BBC has admitted it was taken for a ride by a cabbie. The network apologised to its viewers for a studio mix-up that resulted in a cab driver appearing on live television as an expert on internet music downloads. "We interviewed the wrong person," a BBC spokesperson said on Monday while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with company policy.