A ,2-billion natural-gas project led by South Africa’s petrochemical giant Sasol in neighbouring Mozambique has fuelled hopes for the economic recovery of the country’s once-vibrant southern hub. With the Matola gas project, Mozambique also hopes to cut its annual fuel imports by about -million.
Demand for rare reptiles as pets has made Japan one of the top markets for smuggled exotic animals and conservationists in the country are concerned that law-enforcement authorities lack teeth to deal with the problem. Lax enforcement of laws against smugglers encourages the underground business.
Cameroon has freed two journalists working for the BBC who had been detained by the military for six days on suspicion of spying in the disputed, oil-rich Bakassi peninsula. One of the journalists is South African Farouk Chothia, a producer with the BBC’s African service and a former Mail & Guardian journalist.
African Union-sponsored talks to end the slaughter of tens of thousands of people in Sudan’s western Darfur region have collapsed with two rebel groups saying the government still isn’t implementing existing peace agreements. African mediators worked to try and save the negotiations, which got under way on Thursday.
Burundi’s President Domitien Ndayizeye and other senior politicians were in Pretoria on Saturday for a fresh round of talks aimed at advancing the peace process in the Central African country. Deputy President Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s mediator for Burundi, is due to meet the parties on Sunday and Monday.
Downing Street has admitted to The Observer newspaper that repeated claims by British Prime Minister Tony Blair that ”400 000 bodies had been found in Iraqi mass graves” is untrue, and only about 5 000 corpses have so far been uncovered. The claims were made by Blair in November and December of last year.
German prosecutors are preparing to drop all the most serious charges against the only man convicted for the September 11 attacks, because they fear that crucial American evidence was obtained by torturing detainees. The case is set to deepen further the rift between Germany and the United States.
American Lance Armstrong admitted he was surprised to see who exactly are his remaining rivals in the Tour de France after taking another step towards winning a record sixth yellow jersey. The 32-year-old US Postal rider claimed his 17th stage victory overall on Saturday after beating Italy’s Ivan Basso to the finish.
After a series of disappointing home-ground performances in the Super 12 — and a dodgy Absa Currie Cup start two weeks ago — the Sharks returned to their Durban base with purposeful intent on Saturday to take the maximum five log points off the Golden Lions in fashioning an important 38-25 Currie Cup rugby victory.
More fickle than the weather at the British Open was the leaderboard it left behind. At the top was the ultimate journeyman, Todd Hamilton, who breezed through Royal Troon in every condition imaginable on Saturday for a four-under 67 and a one-shot lead. Chasing him was a collection of golf’s biggest stars.