A white powder found at a post office at Alberton, south of Johannesburg, earlier this month was not anthrax, police said on Wednesday. Eleven people were admitted to hospital on July 6 after they came in contact with an envelope containing a white powder.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has postponed a court interdict that would have prevented a screening of the controversial documentary Unauthorised: Thabo Mbeki by the Mail & Guardian in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
Janusz Walus and Clive Derby-Lewis, convicted killers of South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani, on Wednesday invited leaders of the SACP to visit them in jail and ask any questions about the murder. Their legal representative faxed a letter to SACP secretary general Blade Nzimande inviting a delegation to meet them and their lawyers.
Seven people died in a bus accident on KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) South Coast on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. Speaking earlier from the accident scene, Victor Chetty, director of protection services for the Hibiscus Coast, said six people had died at the accident in Southbroom and eight were critically injured.
Three women who confessed to the killing of a baby and burying the body in a yard abandoned their bail applications in court on Wednesday. They appeared in the Mamelodi Magistrate’s Court in Pretoria, which postponed the case to August 28. The women are 34-year-old Cecilia Mokgabane Seale, Rosinah Show, an aunt, and Thandi Martha Matubane, the midwife.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is going to court to stop a Mail & Guardian screening of the controversial documentary Unauthorised: Thabo Mbeki in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening. An interdict application will be heard in court on Wednesday afternoon.
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South Africa marked Nelson Mandela’s 89th birthday on Wednesday with tributes and congratulations as the anti-apartheid icon prepared to launch a new international group to help solve the world’s problems. Mandela was to unveil the group of elder statesmen at a news conference in Johannesburg.
South African retail-sales growth jumped to 9% year-on-year in May at constant prices, official data showed on Wednesday, adding pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates further. Statistics South Africa said the sales growth surged from an upwardly revised 5,9% in April, lifting the number for the three months to May to 8,5%.
The spat between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Department of Home Affairs over the handling of Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa continued on Wednesday. Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula ”has no idea” of the volumes of Zimbabwean refugees who will flow into South Africa over the next few months, the DA’s Mark Lowe said.
Four members of a gang believed to have blown up at least five ATMs have been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said two were arrested last Friday, a third on Monday and the fourth on Tuesday.
Najwa Petersen, accused of murdering her showbiz husband Taliep Petersen, has started her 30-day observation and evaluation period at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital. Last week, Magistrate Robert Henney denied bail for 45-year-old Petersen and one of her three co-accused, Abdoer Raasiet Emjedi.
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Playing soccer, often clandestinely and using rolled-up rags for balls, raised the spirits of South African political activists jailed on Robben Island over three decades ago. Now the former prisoners’ experiences will give hope to millions in a new movie.
South Africa’s public broadcaster will this week launch a rolling news network that aims to provide an African perspective in a market previously dominated by Western broadcasters. South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) News International will be officially launched by President Thabo Mbeki on July 20.
The decision to prosecute apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok and four others was largely welcomed on Tuesday. The Freedom Front Plus, however, took exception to the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision, announced on Monday, saying it was a mistake.
The Mail & Guardian is going ahead with plans to screen a controversial documentary on President Thabo Mbeki at its Critical Thinking Forum in Johannesburg this week — despite possible legal action against the documentary’s producer by the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
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Brazilian soccer great Pele and three-time African player of the year Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon delivered a special birthday gift on Tuesday to former South African president Nelson Mandela. The players are among 50 past and present international stars taking part in a soccer friendly to mark his 89th birthday on Wednesday.
A joint working group under the chairpersonship of President Thabo Mbeki has concluded that the targets set by the Growth and Development Summit four years ago have been 90% fulfilled. A figure of 4,2% is outstanding and 5,8% could be described as work in progress. The group met at the Union Buildings on Tuesday.
Perpetrators of apartheid crimes should be given the chance to tell their stories to enable closure for their victims and for themselves, Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane said on Tuesday at a press conference at the Union Buildings. He criticised those who say the book on apartheid-era crimes should be closed.
Strong anti-government sentiment was evident at a housing protest outside Parliament’s main gate in Cape Town on Tuesday. Residents of the city’s problem-ridden N2 Gateway housing project had marched on the institution to bring their grievances about high rentals and poor construction to the attention of Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Vodacom is going to court again, this time to prevent striking workers from violence and damaging property, the Communication Workers’ Union said on Tuesday. Vodacom lodged an application for the second interdict last week and the matter would be heard on Wednesday, said CWU spokesperson Mfanafuthi Sithebe.
Most South African women prefer their men hairless, at least when it comes to body hair, according to a survey released on Tuesday by Dutch shaving product manufacturer Royal Philips Electronics. The Philips Bodygroom Survey also found over half of the men who had taken part ”admitted to attempting to trim, shave or wax” their body hair.
The Department of Home Affairs on Tuesday rejected the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) call for the government to set up refugee camps for Zimbabweans fleeing their country. Cleo Mosana, spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, accused the official opposition party of exploiting the Zimbabwean situation for publicity.
The National Prosecution Authority’s decision to prosecute apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok must not be seen as a witch-hunt, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Tuesday. Vlok, former police chief Johann van der Merwe and three former high-ranking police officers will appear in court for attempted murder next month.
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Former British prime minister Tony Blair is one of hundreds of well-wishers across the globe who have sent gifts to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela for his 89th birthday on Wednesday. ”We have received a deluge of gifts and messages,” said Boniswa Qabaka-Nyeti, a spokesperson at the flagship Nelson Mandela Foundation.
With airports around the world planning to increase tariffs to fund expansion, global airlines lobby group the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said it was unfair that airlines and passengers had to pay for costs incurred by airport operators.
Communities affected by the building of another runway at OR Tambo International Airport outside Johannesburg are to be kept fully informed about progress, according to Transport Minister Jeff Radebe. The aim, he said in reply to a written parliamentary question on Tuesday, is to allay fears and misconceptions.
South Africa’s rugby team, smarting from a weekend defeat at the hands of New Zealand, look set to unleash their own version of the All Blacks’ famous haka, based on an old Zulu war dance. Springbok coach Jake White said he had asked the rugby authorities about reviving a dance that was last used more than 80 years ago in order to psyche up his players.
Striker Robbie Keane and his Tottenham Hotspur teammates will be looking for goals when they take on defending champions Kaizer Chiefs in the opening fixture of this year’s Vodacom Challenge at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday (3.15pm kick-off).
Having completed their Tri-Nations campaign in Christchurch on Saturday, the Springboks will now turn their attention to France and the World Cup, starting in Paris in September. While the 1995 world champions failed to make a telling impact on the southern hemisphere rugby championship, coach Jake White will be fairly happy with his team’s performance.
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Nelson Mandela’s July 18 birthday is annual cause for celebration in South Africa and draws attention from his many local and international admirers. This year, the partying also has a serious side, with the launch on Wednesday — Mandela’s 89th birthday — of a humanitarian campaign.
Zimbabwe is a long way from being ready to join Southern Africa’s rand monetary union, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni was quoted as saying on Monday. ”A very high degree of macroeconomic convergence is necessary. They have a very long way to go,” he said.
Seven people were killed in a collision between a bus and a fire engine in Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday. The crash claimed the lives of three firemen and four bus passengers, six of whom died on the scene. Police spokesperson Zandra Hechter said the seventh accident victim died in the Port Shepstone Provincial Hospital.