No image available
/ 7 February 2008
South Africa’s Parliament on Thursday approved legal changes to make abortions easier to obtain, despite criticism from opponents who said the law was already too lax. The changes will provide for 24-hour abortion facilities, do away with pre-approval procedures and permit all nurses — instead of just midwives — to terminate pregnancies.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
Liliesleaf Farm in Rivionia, north of Johannesburg, will reopen in June 2008 for people wanting to tour the former secret headquarters of the African National Congress’s Umkhonto we Sizwe. The farm was purchased in 1961 by the South African Communist Party, according to the Liliesleaf Trust.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
Zimbabwe’s draft mining Bill will not force firms to give a stake to the government for free as previously feared, and will be debated by Parliament after elections next month, a senior official said on Thursday. The government of President Robert Mugabe, who is running for another five-year term, published the Bill last November.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
United Nations goodwill ambassador and Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie visited Iraq on a humanitarian mission on Thursday and met top officials to demand help for people displaced by the war. "There are over two million displaced people and there never seems to be a real coherent plan to help them," she said.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
At least 29 people were killed and 16 others injured in a multi-vehicle road crash on a highway outside the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Thursday, with fog the probable cause, security sources said. Reckless driving, lax traffic rules and poor road conditions contribute to many road crashes in Egypt.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
Pakistani police have arrested two more suspects in connection with the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the interior minister said on Thursday. Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack on December 27 as she was coming out of an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
While it was designed to cut costs and reduce bureaucracy, a new video-conference facility launched in Parliament on Thursday gave MPs the chance to see what their colleagues in the provinces look like. National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete hoped the project would one day link the government to rural areas.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
The rand is back to being one of the world’s worst-performing currencies in 2008 after a brief respite last year, and there appears nothing, for now, to halt its slide. A chronic energy crisis that is likely to slice into economic growth, political uncertainty and a gaping current-account deficit paint a gloomy picture for a currency prone to volatility.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
A top Pretoria matriculant who was shot and injured during a robbery was in a stable condition in hospital on Thursday. Razelle Botha was under intensive care and more X-rays were planned for Thursday to check the damage in her spine, Ronel Leyds, spokesperson for Pretoria East Hospital said.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Thursday vowed to continue engaging traditional healers on health issues, saying they were important partners in the fight against HIV/Aids. ”Some people might be resisting traditional healers, but I believe we are on the right track,” she said.