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Outside Luthuli House, yellow posters beg South Africans to save power. In the lobby of the African National Congress headquarters, a veteran of the struggle against apartheid is asking to see ”Baba”. The old man does not have electricity and would like to put his case to the party president. A receptionist shakes her head: ”He comes often.”
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica dramatically resigned on Saturday, saying his government had collapsed over the issue of Kosovo’s declaration of independence last month. Plunging the country into a new political crisis, he said he would call national elections for May 11.
The prospect of recession is looming over the American presidential election campaign, amid a wave of job losses and collapsing home prices that could see the political battle being fought in the middle of an economy in crisis. Last week was marked by rising oil prices, tens of thousands of lost jobs and plummeting share prices.
Heroin is more easily obtainable than a hamburger nowadays, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille told an anti-drugs rally in Johannesburg on Saturday. This was after she led marchers — wearing DA T-shirts bearing the slogan: ”No to drugs and save our children” — through the streets of Vrededorp in Johannesburg.
Calls to end forced marriage, domestic abuse and job discrimination marked International Women’s Day on Saturday as demonstrators took to the streets worldwide. The issues highlighted crossed a wide spectrum, including abortion rights in Italy, violence against women in Iraq and women hostages in Colombia.
The Stormers climbed off the bottom of the Super 14 rugby standings with an bonus-point 34-16 win over Australian strugglers Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Saturday. The Cape Town-based team played enterprising rugby to come away with four tries in their third straight win in Brisbane and the sixth win in their past 10 games in Australia.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille led a march against drugs through the streets of Johannesburg on Saturday. A main concern is that drugs are being brought into areas once considered safe for children, said Westsiders against Addiction group chairperson George Pappas.
Iraqi security forces found about 100 badly decomposed bodies in a mass grave north of Baghdad, the United States military said on Saturday, one of the largest such finds in the country for months. US and Iraqi security forces said it was not clear who was responsible for the grave near Khalis, 80km north of Baghdad, or when the victims had been killed.
New Zealand’s Waikato Chiefs staged a brilliant second-half comeback to beat South Africa’s Cheetahs 22-20 in a Super 14 match at Hamilton on Saturday. The Cheetahs looked to have the game sewn up when they raced to a 17-0 lead at half-time, but the Chiefs suddenly turned things around.
Britain’s former prime minister Margaret Thatcher is due to leave hospital later on Saturday, her spokesperson said. The 82-year-old Thatcher was taken to a south London hospital on Friday for precautionary medical tests. ”She has just been given the all clear,” the spokesperson said.