A mob armed with machetes, stones and knives killed seven people accused of practising witchcraft in southern Tanzania, a regional police chief said on Thursday. Villagers accused the suspected witches of cutting off the sexual organs of dead villagers and using them to concoct charms intended to bring good harvests and fortune.
The South African government vowed on Thursday to continue exerting diplomatic pressure to gain access to two of its citizens being held in Pakistan since July 25 on terrorism accusations. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad reiterated that South African authorities have no indication of any terrorist threat against the country.
Insurgents loyal to radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr fought fierce battles on Thursday with United States and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf that quickly spread to other Shi’ite areas. The violence in Najaf killed at least four people. Al-Sadr’s men also fought with US troops in the Baghdad neighbourhood of Sadr City.
Thirty-four soldiers and 18 militants were killed in 24 hours as the military battled its way through a key stronghold of a rebel Muslim preacher in northwest Yemen, military and medical sources said on Thursday. The military suffered heavy casualties because its troops were much more exposed than the rebels, the sources said.
The private health sector needs to be restructured as its current structure allows financial interests to take precedence over the interests of patients, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Thursday. She said it is a system that has been abused by some and detracts from the constructive role that the private sector plays.
Road-rage accused Edward Kekana appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The 34-year-old man from Sophiatown, Johannesburg, was arrested over a road-rage incident at the weekend that left three people dead and one wounded. The case was postponed until next Tuesday for a bail application.
South Africa has excellent legislation aimed at protecting the rights of women, but the government has failed to implement much of it, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday. Speaking during a special debate to mark national Women’s Day on August 9, DA MP Denise Robinson said good laws are not enough.
Secretary to Parliament Zingile Dingani said in a statement on Thursday that a new travel system was to be put in place for members of Parliament. The statement followed a travel scam in which Parliament has been defrauded of millions of rands under the current system.
‘Travelgate’ intrigue grips Parliament
Botswana on Thursday announced the extraction of coal-bed methane that will deliver gas within six months from a pilot plant. Botswana could become the regional supplier of energy. All its neighbours are net importers of energy. The project will also attract investment to Botswana and fuel local growth.
Norwegian scientists said on Thursday they may have found several new species of marine life, including previously unknown fish and squids, after scouring the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean in one of the most extensive marine expeditions in history.