China is struggling to prevent burgeoning protests in Tibet from overshadowing its Olympic preparations amid reports that monks have gone on hunger strike after the region’s biggest demonstrations in almost 20 years. Thousands of armed police have surrounded monasteries outside Lhasa, following marches against Chinese rule this week.
The Department of Education criticised the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) on Friday for holding a meeting at 10am on a school day, leaving children unattended. Director general Duncan Hindle said a principal had expressed his concern that at least 10 classes at his school were affected.
South Africans are not saving enough power, President Thabo Mbeki told a community development workers’ indaba [meeting] in Midrand on Friday. ”I get a sense that we haven’t quite got this message through that it’s a national challenge which requires a response by all South Africans,” he said.
Cuba has eased restrictions on the sale of computers, DVD players and other electrical goods, in the first sign of economic liberalisation since Fidel Castro retired last month. The appliances will go on sale immediately and be available to anybody who can pay, according to an internal government memo.
The South African Rugby Union (Saru) has distanced itself from speculation that a Japanese team might be included in an expanded Super 14 competition. The idea was floated by Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill who was quoted as saying the idea of adding a Japanese team was on the agenda of Sanzar.
An armed gang stormed into a Durban bank on Friday, holding staff and customers at gunpoint, KwaZulu-Natal police said. ”Five armed suspects entered, took cash and a customer’s vehicle and fled,” said Superintendent Willie Olivier of Durban’s Organised Crime Unit
The resources index kept the JSE in firmer territory by midday on Friday, enhancing the morning session’s gains. At noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index was up 1%, driven by the 1,75% advance in the resources index. The gold mining index recovered 0,06% but the platinum mining index gave up 0,23%.
Kidnappers of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop found dead in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul had demanded a -million ransom, a senior police official said on Friday. Paulos Faraj Rahho, the archbishop of Mosul, 390km north of Baghdad, was abducted on February 29 after gunmen attacked his car and killed his driver and two guards.
For one spring evening in a blue-tiled mosque just south of Tehran, it sounds and feels as though the hour of the Iranian reformists has come again. The mosque is packed with men and boys chanting the name of Mohammad Khatami. They push and shove in the hope of catching a glimpse of the former president who tried to smooth some of the sharp edges of the Islamic republic.
Albie Morkel took four wickets and Johan Botha three to help South Africa bundle out Bangladesh for a paltry 143 runs on Friday in the third and final one-day international, moving them closer to a clean sweep of the series. Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful sent his side to bat after winning the toss, but they started losing wickets from the 10th over.