Africa, South Africa | featured news

Leaders of the five BRICS nations fueling global economic growth plan the creation of a development bank in a direct challenge to the World Bank that they accuse of Western bias.

A South African cardinal on Monday apologized for offending victims of child abuse when he described pedophilia as an illness and not a crime in a media interview. Victims' rights groups and others said the comments by Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, the Catholic Archbishop of Durban, comments were insensitive, especially given perceptions the Catholic Church has not done enough to root out abuse.

The father of "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius – the Olympic star accused of murdering his girlfriend – has been accused of racism after he claimed the family needed guns to protect themselves because they could not rely on South Africa's police.

The episode, caught on cellphone video, has prompted anger because of its brazen and outsize cruelty.

Oscar Pistorius was to hold a private memorial service Tuesday for the girlfriend he is charged with murdering. Slain model Reeva Steenkamp was cremated and mourned at a family service last week while Pistorius was in custody during a weeklong hearing on whether he should be released on bail.

There are several key points where testimony at the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing conflicted between the prosecution and the defense....

Oscar Pistorius was granted bail today, paving the way for him to be freed from custody pending his trial in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

In a bizarre twist to a closely watched court case, South African media Thursday reported that the lead police detective in charge of the Oscar Pistorius murder investigation is himself facing seven counts of attempted murder.

Nike Inc. has suspended its contract with Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee runner from South Africa charged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day slaying of his girlfriend. Pistorius, who became the first double-amputee runner to compete on the track at the Olympics at last year's London Games, is accused of intentionally killing model Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and that the shooting was accidental. "We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely," Nike said in a brief statement posted on its website Wednesday.

As his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, cowered behind a locked door in a tiny bathroom, Oscar Pistorius strapped on his prosthetic legs, grabbed his pistol, strode seven yards to the door and fired through it four times, killing her, prosecutors alleged Tuesday as they laid out their case against the double-amputee Olympic runner in Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.