The Bush administration, caught out by the rise of Hamas, embarked on a secret project for the armed overthrow of the Islamist government in Gaza, it emerged on Monday. Vanity Fair reports in its April edition that President George Bush signed off on a plan for the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to remove the Hamas authorities in Gaza.
Kicked out of sleepy Nile fishing hamlets lost forever to Sudan’s oil boom, villagers in the south curse a refinery for causing forced relocations, for spreading disease and ravaging the environment. Villagers say thousands were forcefully evicted to make way for a low-sulphur crude-oil venture in south-central Sudan.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele on Monday condemned a surge in cash-in-transit heists in the province. ”This renewed spate of heists in the province is something we condemn in the strongest terms, for such criminality results in a number of people … being inconvenienced by the delays in getting their money,” he said.
Israeli war planes on Tuesday carried out raids on the north of the Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinians and wounding two others, a Palestinian medical source said. Israel had vowed on Monday to keep hitting Gaza, even as troops pulled out of the Hamas-run territory after clashes that killed more than 120 Palestinians and dealt a blow to peace talks.
Until Monday there was little argument about the holder of the coveted title of shortest leader in the world: at 162cm, or a shade over five feet three inches, Kim Jong-il, supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army and Great Leader of the People’s Democratic Republic of North Korea, stood head and shoulders below the rest of the field.
Barack Obama bids on Tuesday to knock Hillary Clinton out of the White House race after a mud-slinging campaign that Democratic grandees fear is helping nobody but Republican heir John McCain. But heading into crunch battles in Ohio and Texas, the former first lady is full of fire and has been eviscerating her charismatic rival’s qualifications.
Reviving Zimbabwe’s moribund economy would require inflation-battered citizens to swallow the bitter pill of reduced state spending and higher interest rates to attract foreign cash, analysts say. The ousting of veteran President Robert Mugabe is essential to pave the way for reforms to put the country back on track, they believe.
Venezuela and Colombia were locked in a tense stand-off on Monday, with explosive accusations levelled against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez a day after he ordered tanks and troops to the border. There was no sign of imminent conflict but the war of words escalated when Colombia accused Chávez of bankrolling Marxist rebels.
I’ve become paranoid about posting thoughts to <i>Thought Leader</i>, the <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i>’s blogging platform for the country’s intelligentsia. As I write this, the website’s resident thinkers are discussing the meaning of life. So you’ll understand why I’m hesitating over leading some particular thoughts.
In some ways, life has changed little for Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf since the election two weeks ago. The retired general still trots out for afternoon tennis, aides say, and enjoys a game of bridge a few times a week. In the evenings he pulls on a cigar and, although he can’t admit it, nurses a glass of whisky.