Authorities in Zimbabwe raised the official price of a loaf of bread in a bid to ease chronic shortages, state radio said on Friday. A loaf of bread will now cost ZÂ 000, up from ZÂ 000, the country’s Industry Ministry said in a statement read aloud on state radio. The price of some other basics has also been hiked, including salt, beef and cement.
A hearing involving murder accused Najwa Petersen was postponed in the Wynberg Regional Court on Friday as psychiatric reports to determine whether she’s mentally fit to stand trial for the murder of Taliep Petersen have not yet been completed. The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported that the widow did not appear in court on Friday.
Sierra Leone holds presidential and parliamentary polls on Saturday, the first since United Nations peacekeepers left two years ago and a watershed in its recovery from an 11-year civil war fuelled by blood diamonds. The war spawned images of drug-crazed child soldiers who hacked off people’s limbs.
Philippine troops shelled Muslim rebel positions and raked them with helicopter fire overnight on the southern island of Jolo after a day of intense fighting in which at least 58 people, including 26 troops, were killed. The fighting that broke out on Thursday morning is the heaviest in the volatile Philippine south for almost three years.
Sacked deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge has confirmed she was dismissed by President Thabo Mbeki for her unannounced visit to East London’s Frere Hospital and her unauthorised trip to Madrid. Addressing a press conference broadcast live on Cape Talk radio on Friday, she said she wanted the facts, ”as I see them”, to receive an airing.
Potential jurors in a Los Angeles court were forced to do a double-take on Thursday when their court-room duties were enlivened by a jolt of star power in the shape of Brad Pitt. The Hollywood heart-throb reported for jury duty in Los Angeles, his publicist confirmed, before eventually being discharged after the case he was due to hear ended in a plea-deal.
Authorities in a west of Scotland town have been forced to take drastic measures to stop green traffic lights being vandalised, the <i>Herald</i> newspaper said on Friday, suggesting religion was to blame. The municipal council has put protective wire grilles over every green light in Larkhall, near Glasgow, because vandals have smashed 205 lights since 2004.
South African markets reeled on Friday, caught up in a global flight from risky assets sparked by credit worries, with stocks falling nearly 4% and bonds sliding. ”Traders must be placed on suicide watch today [Friday], as the [stock] market is expected to bleed heavily during the day,” said Efficient Research in a note.
Sachin Tendulkar was threatening to make England pay for dropping him on 20 as India finished the first day of the third and final Test on 316-4 at the Oval on Thursday. Tendulkar was 48 not out and VVS Laxman 20 not out following an impressive 91 from opener Dinesh Karthik.
Researchers studying bird flu viruses said on Thursday they may have come up with a way to vaccinate people before a feared influenza pandemic. Experts have long said there is no way to vaccinate people against a new strain of influenza until that strain evolves. That could mean months or even years of disease and death before a vaccination campaign began.