North Korea refused to attend a session of six-party talks on dismantling its nuclear programmes on Tuesday while it awaits the return of $25-million in frozen assets, diplomats said. The US Treasury had announced on Monday that about $25-million in North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank could be released, although no timeframe was given.
The tax amnesty for businesses with a turnover of less than R10-million a year expires on May 31 this year, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) warned on Monday. To date, Sars has received close to 18 000 applications for amnesty, said spokesperson Adrian Lackay.
The multimillion-dollar effort to eradicate one of the world’s deadliest diseases received a significant but controversial boost on Monday when scientists announced the creation of genetically modified mosquitoes that cannot pass on malaria. Trials revealed that the GM mosquitoes could quickly establish themselves in the wild and drive out natural malaria-carrying insects.
There is not a whiff of formaldehyde nor a glimpse of a used condom, but the work of Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and other leading United Kingdom artists has finally made its way to Beijing for an event that would have been almost unimaginable 10 years ago. Starting on Tuesday, the newly constructed Capital Museum will host the city’s biggest exhibition of contemporary British art.
Fast food giant McDonald’s is set to begin a campaign to redefine "McJob" entries in British dictionaries, which it believes are both incorrect and insulting to its workers, the <i>Financial Times</i> reported on Tuesday. "We believe that it is out of date, out of touch with reality and, most importantly, it is insulting …," wrote David Fairhurst, the company’s chief people officer in northern Europe.
African National Congress politician and businessman Chris Nissen said he had returned the R370 000 he was paid for consultancy work to the trustees of murdered mining magnate Brett Kebble’s estate, media reports said on Tuesday. The money was repaid last year.
At least 63 people died early on Tuesday when a fire ripped through a retirement home in southern Russia, the Interfax news agency reported quoting local officials. About 33 more were injured in the fire that broke out in Kamyshevatskaya village in the Kuban region, officials said, adding that a total of 97 people were staying at the facility.
The Polish government is to ban discussions on homosexuality in schools and educational institutions across the country, with teachers facing the sack, fines or imprisonment. Poland’s Education Minister, Roman Giertych, has said he hopes to introduce a similar ban across the entire European Union.
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is using ”hit squads” to crack down on opposition politicians and activists, Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai said in an interview. ”Mugabe is a violent man and he doesn’t hide it, especially where his power is threatened … No excuses, no regrets, the defiance epitomises his attitude,” said Tsvangirai.
Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour on Monday apologised for a scathing attack on Parliament’s portfolio committee on correctional services. ”The minister apologised and said that he had not given any sanction to the [correctional services] spokesperson, Mr [Luphumzo] Kebeni, for this personal and general attack …,” said committee chairperson Dennis Bloem.