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/ 28 December 2005
When Philimon Banda fell ill last year in his small village on the edge of Lake Mweru in northern Zambia, he went to 15 local witchdoctors who all told him he had been possessed. One said he had a snake in his body drinking his blood, another that he had been inhabited by a ghost, a third that he had been bewitched by jealous neighbours.
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/ 28 December 2005
President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday congratulated Bolivia’s new President Evo Morales, describing his election as evidence of the continuing changes in Latin America. He said the South African government and its people stood ready to continue working to advance the developmental agenda of the south in general and of Bolivia in particular.
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/ 28 December 2005
Pretoria police are investigating whether the alleged hijacking and cash-heist kingpin they arrested on Friday was involved in armed robberies in Garsfontein and Lyttelton during his three years on the run. Andrew Pilusa (27) is accused of being part of the syndicate behind more than 40 hijackings and two cash-in-transit heists.
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/ 28 December 2005
Even the maker of the Idaho Spud candy bar thinks it’s a little weird. But the chocolate-covered, potato-shaped Spud sells at a rate of three million bars a year. ”It’s amazing; I’m not sure who eats them all, or if they all get eaten for that matter,” said David Wagers, president of Idaho Candy.
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/ 28 December 2005
The death toll on South Africa’s roads over the holiday season has reached 965, the Department of Transport said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Collen Msibi said 411 of the casualties were pedestrians and 88 were children under 14. Msibi said that although ”shocking”, the figure was down from the 1 140 deaths over the same period last year.
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/ 28 December 2005
Under-siege all-rounder Andrew Symonds says he must trust his instincts to fight for his Test career after starring with the ball for Australia against South Africa in the second cricket Test on Wednesday. Symonds, whose position in the team is under threat before next week’s final Sydney Test after a woeful run of scores, made his mark with a 16-ball spell of 3-7 with his medium-pacers as South Africa conceded a 44-run innings deficit.
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/ 28 December 2005
Zimbabweans are heading for a dismal new year, with food shortages and an economic crisis expected to worsen while prospects for political change appear dimmer than ever, analysts say. While President Robert Mugabe’s government is forecasting growth of up to 3,5% in 2006, economists and ordinary Zimbabweans are bracing for more hardship.
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/ 28 December 2005
The JSE was awash with red just before noon on Wednesday in thin trade. Profit-taking following its rally to a record high on Tuesday and weakness in US markets overnight were among factors weighing on the local bourse. By 11.49am, the all share and all share industrial indices shed 1,24% and 1,09% respectively.
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/ 28 December 2005
Seedings for the Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament which starts in Perth on Friday have been rendered meaningless by the late injury withdrawal of Australian Open champion Marat Safin. Safin, the world number 12 who was due to pair with Svetlana Kuznetsova to form the top-seeded Russian team for the eight-nation event, was forced to withdraw with tendinitis in his right knee.
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/ 28 December 2005
Few changes are expected in Egypt’s new government, newspapers reported on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif continued consultations to finalise his new Cabinet line-up. According to the Egyptian press, the new Cabinet will be downsized from 34 to 30 portfolios, 23 of which will remain unchanged.