SAA hostess appears in court for stealing and other brief reports

* The sentencing of Abel Manamela, found guilty of assault after releasing five puff adders inside an Absa bank in Johannesburg, was postponed again yesterday. Manamela, who appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court, has been struggling to find a lawyer to represent him after dismissing two previous attorneys. – News24 * An Israeli military tribunal jailed a former sergeant for eight years yesterday for killing a British activist who was trying to protect Palestinian civilians during violence in Gaza in 2003. – Business Day * William Nkuna, who is charged with the murder of Temba Police Constable Francis Rasuge, made a brief court appearance in the Mmabatho High Court yesterday. The matter was postponed to October 3 when Nkuna will stand trial. – SABC News * A 49-year-old pastor and his wife are expected to appear in the Benoni Magistrates’ Court today on charges of child neglect after the pair was arrested on Wednesday. Police found their five-year-old foster child locked in a storeroom in the back of the couple’s house. – The Star * The Department of Correctional Services has responded to accusations that hundreds of sexual offenders were released, saying it could have released prisoners who posed a danger to society under its remission programme, but they would have been nearing the end of their sentence. – The Star