No image available
/ 13 December 2007
Favourable winds were set to keep an oil slick 10km long and 5km wide from reaching the Norwegian shore, although rough seas hampered a clean-up operation, energy group StatoilHydro said on Thursday. The accident has stirred debate about the risks of opening up new areas of Norwegian waters for oil and gas exploration.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
The pompom weed — a plant in the daisy family — is rapidly becoming one of the most serious threats to the conservation of South African grasslands, the Working for Water programme said on Thursday. The weed’s beautiful flowers are leading members of the public to collect and inadvertently spread it to more places.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
National, provincial and local government departments, together with state agencies in the various provinces, will work together to manage congestion at the country’s busiest land border posts over the festive season, the border-control operational coordinating committee said on Thursday.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
The proposed relocation of residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement is a bid to reverse century-old wrongs, the Cape High Court was told on Thursday. Cape Judge President John Hlophe was hearing an application by provincial authorities for permission to relocate the community, currently living in shacks alongside Cape Town’s N2 highway.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
Zimbabwe’s veteran President Robert Mugabe, accused of allowing attacks on his political opponents, appealed on Thursday to his supporters not to engage in violence in next year’s elections. In a keynote address at his Zanu-PF conference in the capital, Harare, he also urged the party to remain united in the countdown to elections.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
Kenya’s First Lady, Lucy Kibaki, on Wednesday slapped an official who confused her name with that of a woman who has been reported as being the president’s second wife, a report said. Lucy Muthoni Kibaki slapped an undersecretary in the Office of the President during a presidential awards ceremony, independent NTV reported.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua was to have his first meeting with United States President George Bush in Washington on Thursday, after US criticism of his election but admissions that Nigeria’s oil is important. They ”will discuss electoral reform and related issues, energy and the situation in the Niger Delta,” Bush’s spokesperson said.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
Two Algerians, aged 30 and 64, carried out Tuesday’s twin car-bomb attacks in Algiers that killed scores of people, the Algerian daily Liberte reported on Thursday. According to official figures, at least 31 people were killed in the bombings, including five foreigners.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
At least 13 Somalis died on Thursday, including 11 in almost simultaneous mortar blasts, as Mogadishu’s civilian population continued to bear the brunt of relentless fighting. ”The explosion cut people into pieces and splashed blood on the market stalls. We’re not sure where the mortar came from,” said a witness.
No image available
/ 13 December 2007
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Brigitte Mabandla has until January 15 to file her submissions with the Ginwala commission of inquiry into National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. According to the rules and timeframes for the inquiry, Pikoli has until January 31 to do the same.