He told his wife he’d gone fishing. But when a photograph of Dick Cheney, the United Vice-President, appeared on the White House website, the smile on his face and the reflection in his sunglasses left some questioning his catch. The reflection appears to show the double image of a naked woman cavorting before him.
Police have banned political rallies and the opposition has accused the authorities of waging a violent crackdown as Zimbabwe’s political crisis deepens nearly two weeks after a presidential election that produced no official winner. Zimbabwe’s neighbours hope to find a resolution on Saturday at an emergency summit in Zambia.
A Metrorail passenger train derailed early on Saturday morning at Durban’s Merebank railway station, injuring 135 people — 21 of them seriously. The Umlazi-bound train derailed at 6.30am. While none of the carriages overturned, a steel support of the overhead electric power cables buckled on to the second of the train’s six coaches.
Mozambique and South Africa on Friday agreed to speed up work on new energy-production projects to benefit both countries, South African Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said. This was among several issues discussed at a one-day binational commission in Maputo, also attended by President Thabo Mbeki.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Friday accused President Thabo Mbeki’s government of deliberately seeking to emasculate the African National Congress. A new style of political leadership is required, he told the National Union of Metalworkers in the Eastern Cape.
Militant youths occupied an oil installation in restive southern Nigeria on Friday, shutting down its production of 5 000 barrels a day, officials said. The oil installation — a so-called flow station installation near Yenagoa, the capital city of Bayelsa state — is operated by a Royal Dutch Shell joint venture in Nigeria.
The signing of a Ugandan deal to end 20 years of war was postponed in chaos on Friday as government delegates quit, the rebel negotiator resigned and fugitive Joseph Kony failed to show. The planned ceremony on the remote Sudan-Democratic Republic of Congo border seemed delayed for at least days.
Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu’s controversial ”shoot to kill” comment has received African National Congress president Jacob Zuma’s backing. He was speaking at the KwaZulu-Natal Institute of Local Government and Traditional Leadership’s fund-raising gala dinner on Friday night
The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) suspended group executive of news and current affairs, Snuki Zikalala, has lodged a case with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
United States warships will soon leave waters near Burma after the ruling military junta refused permission for the delivery of aid supplies, a top US commander said on Wednesday.