Canada’s embassy in Norway is to present five tonnes of maple syrup to Norway’s skiing-team trainer, Bjoernar Haakensmoen, in recognition of his help during the Winter Olympics, the embassy said on Monday. By giving one of his ski poles to Canadian Sara Renner, Haakensmoen allowed Canada to take silver in the women’s cross-country.
Czech officials declared a state of emergency in seven flood-hit regions while rivers continued to rise in neighbouring European countries on Monday, forcing evacuations in some areas. Flooding was reported in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia. The Elbe River swelled toward a new peak in Germany on Monday.
The Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Fawu) on Monday accused Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) of apartheid-style curbing of political expression. Fawu said the management at the company’s Pretoria plant last week called on workers not to utter political slogans at memorial services for deceased staff.
The Cape High Court is to rule on Tuesday on an application by one of the four accused in the LeisureNet trial for his hearing to be separated from the others. The application by Hans Moser was made on Monday morning as the trial, which has been set down for six weeks, got under way before acting Judge Dirk Uijs.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama may be allowed to visit China if he ”completely abandons” independence ambitions, the nation’s religious affairs chief said in comments published on Monday. ”As long as the Dalai Lama makes clear that he has completely abandoned Tibetan ‘independence’, it is not impossible for us to consider his visit.”
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has collected R1-billion more than the revised budget of R417-billion for the past financial year, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Monday. Sars collected R418,116-billion, which is R45,3-billion more than the original estimate of R372,8-billion.
Some cases in Port Elizabeth’s Magistrate’s Court have been delayed by up to 10 years and others are being withdrawn because of absent magistrates, media reports said on Monday. In the latest blow, 10 cases in which children were either raped or indecently assaulted were struck off the roll this week.
Playboy, the United States-based adult publisher and broadcaster, is considering using Britain as a testing ground for moving into the gay market for the first time, The Times newspaper said on Monday. Playboy wants to launch a new gay brand to boost revenues, the daily said.
Sudanese authorities have refused to extend the mandate of the Norwegian non-governmental organisation Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which heads the main refugee camp in Darfur, sheltering some 100 000 people, the organisation announced on Monday.
The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) on Monday called for a pay agreement that ended a security-guard strike by 14 other unions to be undone. Satawu distanced itself from the settlement reached on Sunday, saying it would continue its strike from Monday morning.