Yearly Archives: 2001

TWO men pretending to be brothers of President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) misled Iraqi authorities by posing as envoys of the government, officials said. The official Iraqi news agency INA said the two men, who identified themselves as Salomon and Zigho Kabila, brothers of the newly sworn-in president, were in […]

THE UN World Food Programme (WFP) has appealed for $135m to feed 2.9 million Sudanese facing acute hunger due to continuing civil war and a worsening drought. Logistics and distribution systems are in place but WFP food warehouses are almost empty. Food would be destined for people in both government and rebel-held areas of the […]

ANGOLAS Unita rebels say they killed 115 Angolan troops and 12 Namibian soldiers in operations conducted across the country in the past month. Unita said its forces had attacked a military garrison manned by Angolan and Namibian troops in the southern city of Kuangar, forcing those stationed at the base to flee to the neighbouring […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Khartoum | Thursday FIVE Sudanese had their limbs amputated last month in a punishment the Islamist government here has imposed only once before in its 12 years in power, say a human rights group and diplomats. The five men, convicted of armed robbery, each had their right hand and left foot cut off […]

DELEGATES from 53 countries, including 40 African states, are expected in the Malian capital Bamako for a meeting on implementing the 1997 Ottawa convention against landmines. The two-day pan-African meeting, initiated by Mali with support from France and Canada, is aimed at devising a “concrete strategy” in the campaign to eliminate landmines. Of the estimated […]

OLA AWONIYI, Abuja | Thursday A ROW over the extraordinary security precautions of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has caused the cancellation of a visit to Nigeria, straining relations between the self-styled architect of African unity and its most populous nation. Gaddafi, who often travels Africa surrounded by a large team of heavily armed security agents, […]

EVARISTO CUMBANE, Maputo | Thursday RELIEF operations in flood-stricken central Mozambique are being seriously hampered by water-swamped roads, leaving many regions accessible only by air, say harassed disaster officials. “As the situation worsens all along the Zambezi valley, we are gradually coming under pressure, particularly in terms of transport,” said Joao Zamissa, representative for the […]

A WILD elephant bull has been shot dead after Mpumalanga rangers discovered cancerous growths protruding from its mouth. Rangers at Mthethomusha Game Reserve east of Nelspruit noticed tongue-like growths hanging out the 15-year-old elephant’s mouth two weeks ago. The growths made it difficult for him to eat. A local hunter paid about R20 000 to […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday SOUTH Africa and other poor countries are being frustrated by pharmaceutical companies’ delays in announcing what price cuts they are prepared to offer on anti-Aids drugs, says Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. “We are just wallowing in a sea of uncertainty not knowing what the pharmaceutical companies are offering, and […]

TWELVE people, including four teenagers, have appeared in the Potgietersrus Magistrate’s Court in connection with setting alight three old women suspected of witchcraft. The 12 are accused of killing Rosina Seema, 80, and seriously injuring Hellen Mautjane and Josephine Maima, both 70, last week after villagers accused them of turning two children into zombies. The […]