Man kills and eats girl, 3
Johannesburg A man from KwaZulu/Natal was jailed for 18 years yesterday for killing a three-year-old girl and eating parts of her body (Jonathan Clayton writes). The High Court in Ramsgate on South Africa’s southern coast, was told that it was not clear why Delani Chala, 29, had carried out the attack. However, similar incidents in the area — which is rife with HIV/Aids — have had their roots in rural beliefs that eating body parts can keep evil spirits at bay.
Newsmen kidnap
Gaza City Two journalists from the US Fox News network were abducted by masked Palestinian gunmen. Steve Centanni, a reporter, and a cameraman were pulled from their vehicle. The main militant groups in Gaza denied involvement. (AP)
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Author in SS row
Warsaw A Polish politician has called on the author Günter Grass to renounce his honorary citizenship of Gdansk. Jacek Kurski, of the governing Law and Justice party, said that no Polish city should honour a former Waffen SS member. (AP)
Emergency bith
Pahokee, Florida A pregnant woman crashed her car during a contraction and gave birth while trapped in the partially submerged vehicle. Kenyetta Biggs, 21, spent more than an hour in the car before she and her daughter, whom she called Myracle, were rescued. (AP)
Shark attack
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Cape Town A shark bit off a man’s foot during a lifesaving training exercise in False Bay, an area popular with surfers. Achmat Hassiem, 24, and his brother were being “rescued” by three lifesavers in a boat when the shark, believed to be a great white, struck. (AP)
Gang kidnaps Britons at club
Nigeria Two British oil workers were among five people abducted from a nightclub in Port Harcourt. The hostages were taken by a gang wearing military uniform. Smith International, the parent company of one of the Briton’s employers, confirmed that a worker had been taken hostage, but said that it had not been contacted by the kidnappers. Foreign workers have been told to restrict their movements after abductions in the past week.
7 die in latrine
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Tashkent A father and son were killed in southern Uzbekistan when the walls of a latrine that was 7m (23ft) deep collapsed as they tried to install a pipe. Another five people died from inhaling poisonous gas in an attempt to rescue them. (AP)
Smoking ban
Santiago Smoking in many public places has been banned in an attempt to cut Chile’s annual tobacco-related death rate of 14,000. It includes schools, hospitals and sports stadiums. Big restaurants have to introduce separate smoking areas by next year. (AP)
Massacre film
Beijing China disclosed plans to make a film about the 1937 Rape of Nanking, in which Japanese troops killed 155,000 civilians. The announcement coincided with an expected visit by Japan’s leader to a Tokyo shrine that honours the nation’s war dead. (Reuters)
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Cricketer inquest
Cape Town Pilot error caused the death of Hansie Cronje, the former South Africa cricket captain, in an aircraft crash, an inquest ruled. Judge Siraj Desai said there was no evidence of foul play. Cronje, who was a passenger, retired after a match-fixing scandal.