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/ 1 November 2006
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) government on Wednesday welcomed a decision by the United States to impose sanctions on seven warlords and businessmen, including a notorious international arms dealer, who are accused of fuelling instability in this vast country’s lawless east.
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/ 1 November 2006
Tricksters are using people’s belief in witchcraft to rob them off their possessions in Johannesburg’s city centre, police said on Wednesday. A black substance is smeared on the arm of the victim by a passer-by and a ”good Samaritan” then approaches them telling them they have been cursed.
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/ 1 November 2006
Twenty-one MPs will soon appear before a special parliamentary disciplinary committee in connection with the abuse of parliamentary travel vouchers, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete announced on Wednesday. Nine of them are among the 16 current and former MPs convicted and fined in October.
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/ 1 November 2006
Baghdad was battered by a string of deadly mortar and bomb attacks on Wednesday, which killed at least 10 people as Iraq’s warring factions battled for control of a shattered country. Two court officials were killed when a their jeep exploded as it crossed a bridge leading over the Tigris River from a city centre district housing the defence and interior ministries.
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/ 1 November 2006
Saddam Hussein does not fear execution and will either face the death penalty for crimes against humanity or return as president of Iraq, one of his lawyers said in Beirut on Wednesday. ”President Saddam Hussein does not fear execution,” Lebanese lawyer Bushra Khalil said, four days before an Iraqi court is due to issue a verdict on whether Saddam is guilty or innocent.
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/ 1 November 2006
The first public hearings into banking in South Africa started in Pretoria on Wednesday. The banking inquiry of the competition commission of South Africa will investigate aspects of competition in banking and the national payment system. Inquiry manager Charles Frank said the commission received about 215 submissions from the general public.
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/ 1 November 2006
Security guards were locked in a car boot as a heist gang looted their vehicle on the road between Polokwane and Tzaneen in another Limpopo cash-in-transit heist on Wednesday, police said. ”According to information, the suspects used four vehicles to force the vehicle off the road while firing several shots,” said Superintendent Ronel Otto.
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/ 1 November 2006
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday that another inquiry could be held into his government’s handling of the Iraq war — but insisted now is not the time for such a probe. Seeking to clarify confusion after surviving a parliamentary vote on the divisive issue on Tuesday, Blair said an inquiry now would send the wrong signals to both the fledgling Iraqi government and insurgents.
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/ 1 November 2006
Central African Republic President Francois Bozize on Wednesday accused Sudan of sending armed rebels across the border to occupy a north-eastern town in his country. ”In the last 48 hours, the Central African Republic has been attacked by the same country which has harmed Chad. Let’s be clear: It is [Sudanese President Omar Hassan] al-Bashir,” Bozize told reporters.
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/ 1 November 2006
Accused of supporting corrupt African regimes to facilitate its imports of oil and raw materials from the resource-rich continent, China is staging a grand diplomatic forum to defend its dealings with Africa. Leaders and officials from 48 African countries will attend the two-day Beijing summit this week.