PRETORIA – A neighbour of Oscar Pistorius has told his murder trial he found the South African Paralympic star praying over the body of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as she lay dying. In the trial’s first account of the moments after the shooting, Johan Stipp said he tried to revive Ms Steenkamp. During Dr Stipp’s…
PRETORIA – A second witness at the murder trial of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has told a court in the capital Pretoria she was awoken by the sounds of a fight early on 14 February 2013. Mr Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to intentionally killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He shot dead the 29-year-old…
PRETORIA – With his past triumphs now tarnished because he shot to death his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius will today enter court to be confronted with the jarring possibility that he will be sent to prison for at least 25 years. For the champion runner without legs, who trained himself to overcome all obstacles, nothing else…
PRETORIA – South African investigators have reportedly flown to America in a bid to retrieve information from Oscar Pistorius’ mobile phone ahead of his murder trial in Pretoria tomorrow. It is understood three senior investigators have requested Apple’s help to unlock the athlete’s iPhone so it can be analysed and presented in court because the…
CAIRO – An Egyptian court has sentenced 26 people to death for founding a “terror group” with the aim of attacking ships using the Suez Canal. Judges said the men were also accused of manufacturing missiles and explosives, local media report. The defendants were tried in absentia, Reuters news agency says. The sentencing comes a…
LUSAKA – Zambia’s founding father and former president Kenneth Kaunda was taken to hospital on Sunday, but is said to be in good spirits, the government said. President Michael Sata visited his predecessor in a Lusaka hospital, where 89-year-old Kaunda is reportedly being treated for fatigue. Images released by the Zambian government showed Kaunda standing…
KAMPALA – Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law Monday a bill that criminalizes homosexuality. Museveni had gone back and forth about the controversial bill. Last month, Museveni said he wouldn’t sign the bill, describing homosexuals as “sick” people who needed help, not imprisonment. Then he backtracked this month and said he’d sign it because…
JOHANNESBURG – Facebook’s announcement that it is buying the mobile instant-messaging company WhatsApp for about $16 billion has everything to do with growing the social network’s global reach internationally, including Africa, WashingtonPost reports. South African analysts say it’s a smart move that’s good for Facebook but could be bad for competition, according to ITWebAfrica. The…
NABEUL – A Libyan military plane crashed in Tunisia’s Nabeul province Friday, killing all 11 people on board, the Libyan government said. The plane was carrying five crew members, a doctor, three patients and two others who were accompanying them on the flight, Libyan officials said. Among those killed was Sheikh Muftah Mabrook al Dwadi,…
LAGOS – Nigeria’s central bank governor Lamido Sanusi has been suspended by the president for “financial recklessness and misconduct”. Mr Sanusi caused shockwaves in Nigeria when he alleged that $20bn (£12bn) in oil revenue had gone missing. Nigeria’s state oil firm has denied failing to account for the money, saying the claim was “unsubstantiated”. Mr…
