SA should have seen Nato blitz coming, says Malema

ANCYL president Julius Malema says SA should never have signed off on the UN resolution that has driven Nato's bombing campaign in Libya.

Mbeki 'no longer fit' to be Zim mediator

The Zimbabwean opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has told President Thabo Mbeki that he is no longer fit to serve as the region's mediator in Zimbabwe's political crisis owing to a "lack of neutrality", and that "there will be no country left" if Mbeki continues to side with President Robert Mugabe.

Zim cops in hospital stand-off with US envoy

Armed police tried to prevent the United States ambassador to Zimbabwe and several other diplomats from leaving a hospital where victims of post-election violence were being treated Tuesday, an Agence France-Presse correspondent with the convoy said.

US flies cyclone aid to Burma

The first United States military aid flight landed in Burma on Monday, but relief supplies continued to just dribble into the reclusive state nine days after a cyclone. A C-130 military transport plane left Thailand's Vietnam war-era U-Tapao airbase carrying 12 700kg of water, mosquito nets and blankets.

Luxury hotels and golf: Welcome to the Green Zone

Picture, if you will, a tree-lined plaza in Baghdad's International Village, flanked by fashion boutiques, swanky cafes, and shiny glass office towers. Nearby a golf course nestles agreeably, where a chip over the water to the final green is but a prelude to cocktails in the clubhouse and a soothing massage in a luxury hotel.

Sudan may charge five for US diplomat's murder

Sudan will decide in two weeks whether to charge five people suspected of murdering a United States diplomat and his driver on January 1. Abdeen al-Tahir, a senior Interior Ministry official, told the Sudanese Media Centre the case would be referred to the Justice Ministry for trial in about 15 days.

US air strike kills al-Qaeda boss in Somalia

A United States air strike killed an Islamist commander thought to be al-Qaeda's leader in Somalia and at least a dozen other people on Thursday, the insurgents and witnesses said. Aden Hashi Ayro died in the latest of several US bombings in recent months to have targeted Somali rebel leaders.

More than 900 killed in Iraq's Sadr City clashes

More than 900 people have been killed in clashes between militiamen and security forces in Baghdad's Sadr City, which broke out last month, a senior Iraqi official told reporters on Wednesday. "There were 925 martyrs in Sadr City and 2 605 others have been wounded", said Tehseen Sheikhly, a spokesperson for the government's Baghdad security plan.

Mugabe snubs foreign pressure on Zim

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Friday rejected foreign criticism of his country as international pressure mounted for him to stand down. "Zimbabwe has a history and heritage and it will never be afraid. Zimbabwe is not for sale and Zimbabwe will never be a colony again," Mugabe said at the opening of an international trade fair in Bulawayo.

China to meet Dalai Lama aides amid Tibet tension

China is to hold talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism whom it blames for a wave of unrest, state media reported on Friday, as the Olympic flame arrived in Japan. The move comes after concerted pressure from the West on China to talk to the Dalai Lama and marks the first serious step to defuse tensions.

Iran president casts doubt on 'suspect' 9/11

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday reaffirmed his doubts about the accepted version of the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States, describing the strikes as a "suspect event". "Four or five years ago a suspect event took place in New York," Ahmadinejad said in a speech to a public rally in the holy city of Qom.

Haiti ousts leader over high food prices

Haitian lawmakers voted on Saturday to dismiss Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, hoping to defuse widespread anger over rising food prices that had led to days of deadly protests and looting. President Rene Preval immediately said he would a name a new prime minister.

US air strikes hit Sadr City, street clashes ease

United States air strikes killed 10 people in the eastern Baghdad militia stronghold of Sadr City, Iraqi police said on Thursday, but street fighting eased after four days of clashes that have killed close to 90 people. The Sadr City slum has since Sunday been the focal point of battles between black-masked Mehdi Army militiamen and security forces.

Deadly fighting in Baghdad as Iraq marks Saddam's fall

Iraq on Wednesday marked the fifth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's iron-fisted regime with the nation still in turmoil, the capital under curfew and a surge of deadly violence in the Shi'ite bastion of Sadr City. Iraqi officials said three mortar rounds slammed into Sadr City, killing at least seven people and wounding 24 others.

Iraq's leader threatens to bar cleric from vote

Iraq's prime minister has raised the stakes in his showdown with followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, saying in an interview broadcast on Monday they would be barred from elections unless their militia disbanded. The comments followed raids on Sunday by security forces into the cleric's Baghdad stronghold, the slum of Sadr City.

US death toll in Iraq reaches 4 000

The number of United States soldiers to die in Iraq has reached 4 000, the US military said on Monday, just days after the fifth anniversary of a war that President George Bush says the US is on track to win. The US military said in a statement four soldiers were killed late on Sunday by a roadside bomb.

US embassy warns of gangs at OR Tambo

According to the United States embassy, 14 Americans in the past 12 months have been robbed at gunpoint after landing at the OR Tambo international airport in Kempton Park, a media report said on Tuesday. The embassy said that gangs of robbers targeted people arriving at airport and robbed them either at their destinations or on the way to their destinations.

Bush discusses African crises, aid in Tanzania

United States President George Bush on Sunday met Tanzania's leader to discuss Africa's political crises before signing a nearly $700-million grant to help stimulate economic growth. On the second stop of a five-nation trip where he has received a warm welcome, Bush will spend the day discussing projects to fight HIV/Aids and malaria.

New Tanzanian Cabinet faces vast challenges

A new, leaner Cabinet for Tanzania was sworn in Wednesday, its predecessor having fallen apart last week amid a corruption scandal. President Jakaya Kikwete dissolved his last Cabinet on February 7 after Edward Lowassa stepped down as prime minister. He and other lawmakers were implicated in a $179-million corruption scandal.

Hezbollah commander killed in Syria blast

Hezbollah military commander Imad Moughniyah was killed by a car bomb in Damascus on Tuesday, the Lebanese group said, announcing the death of the man believed to be behind Western hostage taking in Lebanon in the 1980s. Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, accused Israel of killing Moughniyah, thought to be in his late 40s.

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