South African media and entertainment group Johnnic Communications (Johncom) on Thursday announced details of restructuring at the Sowetan and Sunday World. A new editor-in-chief of both publications has been appointed and some retrenchment of staff at the two newspapers will occur.
The body of Paul Meintjes, whose resurrection was predicted by a ”prophet” after his death about six weeks ago, is back with his family, mortician Nico Foulds said on Wednesday. Foulds said he delivered the body to the family at their home in Hertzogville in the Free State.
The South African Students’ Congress on Wednesday decided to embark on mass protests against alleged racist policies at the University of Pretoria (Tuks). At a meeting attended by approximately 150 students, it was decided to ”go to the streets” in protest against allegedly racist policies adopted by the university.
Avian flu has been detected on three more farms near Middleton in the Eastern Cape, but the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs said on Wednesday there is no need to panic as the farms are within its quarantine zone. Blood and tissue samples from ostrich farms around the country are also being tested.
The South African movie Forgiveness has received two prestigious awards at Switzerland’s 57th Locarno International Film Festival, taking away the best-film accolade and the Human Rights prize against stiff competition. Forgiveness stood out in a festival dominated by Middle Eastern themes.
The South African Navy’s fourth and last patrol corvette, the SAS Mendi, will set sail from Kiel, Germany, on Friday, the navy said in Pretoria on Wednesday. The ship, a German-built Meko A200SAN patrol corvette, will be joining her three sisters — the SAS Spioenkop, the SAS Amatola and the SAS Isandhlwana — in Simon’s Town.
The World Press Freedom Committee has expressed concern at what it calls the ”South African government’s attempts to muzzle media” after reports of a terrorist attack emerged from Pakistan earlier this month. The government later ”expressed its outrage” at the manner in which the reports had been aired.
Five officials of the Eastern Cape health department were arrested in a pre-dawn raid by the Scorpions on Wednesday for allegedly defrauding the government of R12,5-million. The five will soon appear in the Mdantsane Regional Court on charges of fraud, theft, money laundering and tax evasion.
A blaze that gutted at least 40 shacks in Alexandra in Johannesburg on Wednesday was brought under control thanks to prompt action by residents who were trained by the fire department. The ”Umashesha”, or ”fast movers” as they are known, were first on the scene and formed bucket lines with other community members.
A nurse at Sterkfontein mental hospital has been suspended for allegedly using the same needle on several patients, an action that could spread the HI virus. The Gauteng health department said on Tuesday the senior nurse was conducting routine glucose needle-prick tests on patients at the hospital in Krugersdorp last Wednesday.
The body of a Free State man whose resurrection was predicted by a ”prophet” after his death six weeks ago is on its way to a state mortuary, if a local undertaker gets his way. On Monday some disgruntled family members and town residents protested in front of the Meintjes family home.
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk on Tuesday gave an undertaking to sceptical representatives of the Western Cape fishing industry that he will ensure fishing quotas are allocated in an open and honest way. He was addressing several hundred members of the fishing community.
Short-term insurance policy holders in South Africa are under-insured by about 45% on average, according to market research conducted by Santam, South Africa’s largest short-term insurance company. This means policy-holders will only receive partial compensation after submitting an insurance claim.
South Africa and the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has once again failed to stand up for democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe by siding with President Robert Mugabe’s government, South African official opposition leader Tony Leon said in a statement on Tuesday.
Allegations of racism and unfair discrimination may lead to class boycotts and protest rallies at the University of Pretoria, the South African Student Congress (Sasco) warned on Monday. ”We will be calling on students to boycott classes and join marches on campus,” said Sasco branch secretary Joe Heshu.
Radio Pretoria lost its case over its broadcasting licence on a technical point in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Monday. The station manager said no principal judgement was given on the reasons the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa previously gave for dismissing the station’s licence.
The government must tackle muti killings and ritual murders even though some might want this problem to remain hidden, an expert said on Monday. Professor Thias Kgatla, professor of religious studies at the University of the North, said a repeat of a successful campaign in 1994 against the practice is needed.
Some of the Boeremag treason-trial accused feel so aggrieved about media reports on their trial that on Monday they threatened to apply for an order to have journalists barred from court. The men complained about an Afrikaans radio talk show on radiosondergrense on Friday in which they claim they were ridiculed.
The killing of a South African soldier on the Lesotho border with the Free State emphasises the crime crisis along the country’s borders, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday. DA spokesperson Roy Jankielsohn said the government should seriously look at the situation along the Lesotho border.
The peer-review mechanism of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) should include a provision for free and independent press, Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale was told on Monday. Goodale is in South Africa in his capacity as a commissioner of the Commission for Africa.
South African retailer Pick ‘n Pay is set to introduce 200 000 new Proudly South African shelf labels into its stores as a way of helping consumers keen to contribute to the local economy identify those products. Unveiling its initiative on Monday, Pick ‘n Pay said its pilot project will encompass 37 of its Gauteng stores.
A French arms company has applied to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to have charges of corruption relating to the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal withdrawn. The charges relate to an alleged attempt by Deputy President Jacob Zuma to solicit a R500Â 000-a-year bribe from Thomson CSF, now known as Thint.
The New National Party leadership’s decision to dissolve the party and lay its ghost to rest — immediately after the 90th anniversary of the National Party in August — was unavoidable, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday, writing in the African National Congress’s online publication, ANC Today.
Deposed Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his wife, Mildred, called on former South African president Nelson Mandela on Friday to ”thank him for his role in Haiti”. Aristide has been living in exile in South Africa with his wife and two daughters since May 31, three months after a popular uprising in Haiti forced him to flee.
The Freedom Front Plus joined other political parties on Friday in welcoming the South African Reserve Bank’s reduction of the repo rate by half a percentage point to 7,5%, but expressed concern about the strong rand. "It … will contribute to a more realistic value for the rand on international markets," the FF+ said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=120354">’Mboweni has shown foresight'</a>
The situation at Bloemhof is reported to be tense after pupils rampaged through the streets of Boitumelong outside the town in the North West on Thursday, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Friday. Pupils at Thutolore High School on Friday continued with a class boycott.
The United Democratic Movement says South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni and the monetary policy committee have shown foresight and courage by lowing the repo rate by 50 basis points. The UDM finance spokesperson said for more than a year the UDM has been advocating against an excessively strong currently.
A group of youngsters brought a hush to Parliament chamber this week when they spoke about their lives of poverty and hardship and how they think the Children’s Bill could create a happier future for them. They call themselves Dikwankwetla, meaning heroes, and this is how they see themselves in the face of the Aids epidemic.
The Boeremag wanted to throw poisoned oranges in the streets of Soweto as part of its strategy to create chaos in the country, the Pretoria High Court heard on Wednesday. Free State potato farmer Henk van Zyl testified about events leading up to "Operation Popeye", a trigger for a Boeremag plan to take over the government.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=120126">Boeremag had breeding plans</a>
The interests of the country will be central to any decision on the strength of the rand, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday.
He was addressing mine and textile workers protesting in Pretoria against job losses resulting from the currency’s strength.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=120185">Union asks for urgent rand summit</a>
The Pan Africanist Congress has denied reports that, like the New National Party, it will join the African National Congress, saying on Wednesday such speculations are foolish. PAC president Motsoko Pheko said: ”I don’t understand why people are making such assumptions out of the blue.”
A 24-hour hotline for concerned members of the public and farmers became operational on Wednesday, as the culling of thousands of ostriches entered its second day in the Eastern Cape. A media photographer was earlier on Wednesday turned away from a farm where the culling of the infected birds is taking place.