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/ 9 December 2005
Trevor Ncube, the owner and publisher of the Mail & Guardian and Zimbabwe’s Standard and Independent had his passport impounded as he landed in Bulawayo on Wednesday. The confiscation of Ncube’s passport is based on a recent set of laws which limits citizenship of those who the Zimbabwe government alleges to be harming the interests of the country.
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/ 21 November 2005
In an attempt to smooth ruffled feathers, South Africa’s churches came out in support of fast-food company Nando’s on Monday after it denied any involvement in an allegedly distasteful advertisement depicting Christ’s Last Supper. Nando’s was recently the target of an SMS and e-mail campaign opposing the advertisement.
Cape Town High Court Judge Burton Fourie dismissed the Democratic Alliance’s floor-crossing appeal with costs on Monday. This means the DA has lost its fight to have the National Assembly seats of Dan Maluleke, Richard Ntuli, Enyinna Nkem-Abonta, Bheki Mnyandu and Craig Morkel retained by the party.
Refugees attending a Parliamentary session on Wednesday urged the government to recognise their talents and use them to develop the country. ”Give these people a chance to use their skills to help build this country and teach South Africa how to walk,” said Ami Bomoka, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa has suspended eight of his top elected officials with immediate effect following fears that they were intending to cross the floor next month. Holomisa would not supply details, claiming it is an internal matter, but denied they were asked to leave, as was previously stated.
Lauding President Thabo Mbeki’s drive for gender equality and South Africa’s women for their fight against HIV/Aids, United States First Lady Laura Bush said Africa’s progress is best measured in hope. Bush was speaking at a gathering at the Centre for the Book in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Minister of Education Naledi Pandor wishes to introduce legislation early next year giving school principals more power and authority, she said on Monday. School governing bodies have become ”very powerful” and principals do not play a big enough role, she told the seventh International Conference of School Principals in Cape Town.
British police evacuated 20 000 people from the centre of Britain’s second-biggest city, Birmingham, and carried out a controlled explosion on a bus on Saturday evening after receiving intelligence on an unspecified threat. Police say the incident was probably not connected to the London bomb attacks.
At least 33 people have been killed in a series of explosions that ripped through London’s transport system on Thurday morning, and more fatalities are expected to be announced as the situation develops. Russell Smith of the London ambulance service confirmed the deaths in a coordinated series of attacks on tube trains and a bus that left many more people wounded and plunged the capital.
At least 37 people were killed and about 700 injured after four bombs ripped through London’s underground network and tore the roof off a bus during Thursday-morning rush hour. Leaders from around the world have expressed shock and anger.