Bamako – Witnesses say a man accused of drinking alcohol has been given about 50 whip lashes by radical Islamists who have seized control of parts of northern Mali.
A resident of Timbuktu city, Mohamed Maiga, told The Associated Press he saw the agents of the Islamist group’s moral police whipping the young man in public near the market on Monday.
For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za
London – Australia shooter Russell Mark arrived in Britain an angry man after being told he won’t be allowed to sleep with his wife during the London Olympics.
Mark and his wife Lauryn, a fellow competitor who is also on the Australian shooting team, have been told to room separately during the Games.
The 48-year-old Mark, competing at his sixth Olympics, said Australian officials had enforced the ban as a result of Lauryn’s contentious appearance in ‘lads magazine’ Zoo, where she has been photographed holding a shotgun over her back dressed only in a green and gold bikini.
Mark said he and his wife were being punished for being a married couple.
For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za
Pic: Independent Newspapers
The new leadership of the ANC Youth League in Tshwane has been described by some of its own members as opportunists who are only looking after their own interests.
The members have come under heavy attack from one of the branches, which has questioned their motive in declaring unwavering support for Tshwane executive mayor and ANC regional chairman Kgosientso Ramokgopa.
The league accused senior municipal officials last week of plotting to oust Ramokgopa from both posts. It also claimed these officials were co-ordinating service delivery protests in Metsweding, east of Pretoria, to destabilise the mayor’s office.
For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za/
Pic: Independent Newspapers
A former Rustenburg mayor and his bodyguard have been found guilty of killing corruption and fraud whistle-blower and town councillor Moss Phakoe three years ago.
Delivering his judgment in the Mafikeng High Court, sitting in Rustenburg on Monday, Judge Rodney Hendricks said he had accepted witness testimony that Matthew Wolmarans, 43, the current Speaker for the Rustenburg municipality, had hired his mayoral bodyguard, Enoch Matshaba, 40, to kill Phakoe, 52.
For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za
Addis Ababa – The first woman elected to head the African Union Commission committed on Monday to building unity on the continent after a controversial vote in which she unseated the incumbent chair.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa’s home affairs minister, beat Jean Ping of Gabon in a close election on Sunday at a summit here.
“My election should not be seen as a personal victory but it should be seen as a victory for the African continent in general,” she told reporters before flying back to South Africa.
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Johannesburg – Public Service Minister Lindiwe Sisulu plans to approach Cabinet over the low compliance rate for performance evaluations of the heads of national and provincial departments, the Business Day reported on Tuesday.
“I will be approaching Cabinet with a plan to ensure that all qualifying directors general and heads of department are evaluated,” she said on Monday in response to questions by the Democratic Alliance.
For more details go to http://www.news24.com
Pic: (sabc)
Production came to a standstill at six shafts of Anglo Platinum Mines in Rustenburg in the North West province. The 450 miners have been on an illegal strike since yesterday about a 10% wage increase.
They claim that mine management has reneged on the 10% wage increase agreed upon between the employer and employee. The mine workers have been gathering at the Rustenburg town hall since yesterday, singing in protest.
For more details go to http://www.sabc.co.za
Pic: (sabc)
Eastern Cape residents face a bleak next few days as mopping up operations continue. Heavy rains and snowfall left over two thousand homeless in Nelson Mandela Bay alone.
Two people are still missing presumed drowned in the metro area and one person is confirmed drowned. Two others died as a result of the freezing temperatures in the Transkei area. While the worst of the weather might be over, for thousands it has become a case of survival.
With so many people needing help, the metro emergency services are spread thin. This means that there are some groups that fall through the cracks.
For more go to http://www.sabc.co.za
Pic: Reuters
The National Working Committee of the ANC today met with the Provincial Executive Committee in the North West to assess the state of the organisation in the province.
ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe has told the SABC in the North West that the party is plagued by infighting and divisions in its ranks. Mantashe says members of the party are more focused on grouping themselves rather than working for the organisation.
“You’ll find that in some regions, the most dominant is the question of divisions and the problem is that they are locked into factions, instead of working for the ANC – that is the biggest challenge. So, we are going to be dealing with that in detail,” says Mantashe.
For more details go to http://www.sabc.co.za
Pic: AP
Johannesburg – A limited poll of magistrates around the country has revealed a sceptical attitude towards the value of prison time.
The National Institute for Crime Prevention and Reintegration of Offenders (Nicro) said on Monday it received responses from 49 magistrates in a voluntary survey.
About 80% of respondents did not agree that all offenders in prison were dangerous and needed to be locked up.
About 65% said even violent offenders could be rehabilitated.
Most – 57% – did not believe criminals were being rehabilitated in prison. Instead, 41% believed prison trained criminals to be more serious offenders.
For more details go to http://www.news24.com
The Guardian 