Pretoria

A 62-year-old Pretoria businessman who was diagnosed as suffering from a probable case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) has died.

The 19-year-old Pretoria student who was suspected of having Severe Acute Respiratorary Syndrome (Sars) was in a stable condition in the Pretoria Academic Hospital.

Winnie Madikizela was sentenced to five years in jail on Friday after her conviction on dozens of fraud and theft charges. She will serve eight months of her sentence in prison.

The government announced on Thursday that it had terminated discussions with Britain’s BAE Systems to sell it a 30% stake in state-owned arms and technology group Denel.

The Congress of South African Students (Cosas) threatened on Thursday to do ”anything” in its power to keep its honorary president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela out of jail even if it meant burning the prison holding her.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, could be sentenced to 15 years in jail today after being convicted for fraud and theft in a bungled banking scam.

”Viva Winnie!” echoed through a corridor of the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday minutes after the person many regard as the ”mother of the nation” was found guilty on 68 criminal charges.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and co-accused Addy Moolman were convicted on dozens of fraud and theft charges in the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday. The State’s evidence against the pair was ”overwhelming”, Magistrate Peet Johnson told a packed courtroom.

About 80 women and children urged 26 African countries on Wednesday to honour promises they made three years ago to help fight malaria.

The government on Wednesday rejected a report by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) that said it was not honouring its commitments to improve the lives of the poor.

South African Major General Sipho Binda, commander of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force for Burundi, will head for Bujumbura on Wednesday, says the South African defence ministry.

In the latest court ruling against Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, declared two sections of the new Immigration Act unconstitutional and invalid.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had given ”fuzzy” answers and ”bad evidence” in her fraud and theft trial, the Pretoria Regional Court heard on Tuesday.

A scientific study into aggressive driving and road rage is being conducted among motorists in Durban, the Medical Research Council said on Thursday.

There is substantial evidence indicating serious wrongdoing at the SA Bureau of Standards, Democratic Alliance MP Mark Lowe maintained on Wednesday. Lowe has accused SABS management of suspect foreign travel allowances, leave and financial irregularities, and of sexual harassment.

There is no proof anywhere in the world that making prison a terrible experience helps to reduce crime, the United Kingdom’s Commissioner for Correctional Services Martin Narey said on Tuesday.

The issue of apartheid reparations by big business could be settled by dialogue instead of court battles, the Anglican Church and non-goverment bodies said on Thursday.

Questions on South African nationals serving in the British army have sent the Department of Foreign Affairs’ lawyers to the library, foreign affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said on Tuesday.

African Game Services owner Riccardo Ghiazza and a student animal handler were found guilty in the Pretoria Regional Court on Monday of ill-treating a group of 30 elephants brought to a farm near Brits from Tuli in Botswana in 1998.

The Presidential Press Corps was not aimed at excluding any media from interacting with the government, Government Communication and Information System head Joel Netshitenzhe said on Friday.

The war on Iraq, being based on greed, could not be condemned enough, Tshwane mayor Smangaliso Mkhatshwa said on Thursday night. ”The perpetrators of this war even have the guts, the arrogance not only to destroy cities and human beings, but have already budgeted certain amounts to rebuild Iraq to their own design,” he told about 150 people at an anti-war protest outside the United States embassy in Pretoria.

The issue of Zimbabwe could see developed nations lose their collective vigour for plans to revive Africa, British Minister for Africa Valerie Amos said on Monday.

The Civil Aviation Authority said on Thursday it has accepted the resignation of its senior communications manager Trevor Davids, who has been implicated in allegations of wrongdoing.

The United States has not formally asked the South African government to close down the Iraqi embassy or to expel Baghdad’s diplomats, a foreign ministry official said on Monday.

South Africa is the main destination for the trafficking of people for the sex trade in southern Africa, a report has found. Victims are from most countries in the region as well as from Thailand, China and eastern Europe.

Former president FW de Klerk has admitted that he knew the 1988 bombing of the SA Council of Churches’ Johannesburg headquarters had been authorised by the apartheid government.

A once-off wealth tax should be imposed to help compensate victims of apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommended on Friday.

Deployment of additional South African National Defence Force members in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to start next week, SANDF joint operations chief director Major-General Jan Lusse said on Wednesday.

Former African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Tony Yengeni was freed on bail on Wednesday pending his appeal against a four-year sentence for defrauding parliament.