The Kenyan attorney general has issued a warrant for the arrest of a British-based evangelical pastor who claims to have helped infertile women in his congregation deliver ”miracle babies”. Gilbert Deya, the leader of the Gilbert Deya Ministries, who styles himself archbishop, was named by Kenyan authorities who are investigating the theft and trafficking of children.

A South African citizen will appear before a Vanderbijlpark magistrate on Friday in connection with the contravention of laws on weapons of mass destruction and on nuclear energy, Scorpions spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said on Thursday. The man was arrested on Thursday by investigators led by the National Prosecuting Authority.

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, moved on Thursday to calm escalating tension in the hostage crisis in the North Ossetian town of Beslan as sporadic gunfire and explosions threatened to rupture delicate negotiations with Chechen gunmen. Two loud explosions rang out early on Friday near the school where militants were holding hundreds of captives for a second night.

Rapid growth in expenditure on social grants is squeezing government spending on health, education and other essential services, forcing it to reconsider the way it is financing its major development programmes. Figures released by the National Treasury this week show provincial spending on social grants doubled between 2000/01 and 2003/04. And, government spending on grants is set to grow by another 50%.