A road bridge under construction across a river in southern China collapsed, killing 22 people and injuring 22, state media reported on Tuesday, but witnesses expected the death toll to rise substantially. At least 39 people were missing after the 320m concrete arc bridge spanning the Tuo river in Fenghuang county, Hunan province, collapsed on Monday during the evening rush hour.
Twenty-three Vodacom employees were suspended on Monday in a sequel to a month-long strike, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said. The employees were a part of a strike in July and August, in which the CWU demanded recognition from Vodacom.
A leading United States newspaper called on Congress on Tuesday to pursue its investigation of departing White House adviser Karl Rove, whom it accused of pursuing a ruthless brand of politics as ”blood sport.” Rove announced on Monday that he was resigning his White House post by the end of the month.
A 12-year-old Indian girl was beaten and then hanged by her mother for demanding she be sent to school, a media report said on Tuesday. The girl was beaten unconscious with a rolling pin by her mother in a village in Jodhpur district in the western desert state of Rajasthan this month.
Karl Rove’s departure from the White House to spend more time with his family and to write his memoirs marks the end of the dominant political partnership of the past decade in United States politics. Rove took George Bush under his wing when he was no more than the figurehead of a Texan baseball team.
Southern African leaders will probably not be able to find a solution to the meltdown in Zimbabwe at their summit meeting in Zambia later this week, and will probably dabble only in diplomatic matters, analysts predict. Few expect concrete results from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state gathering that starts in Lusaka on Thursday.
Karl Rove, President George Bush’s closest political friend for the last 34 years and the man behind his two presidential election victories, announced his resignation from the White House on Monday. Rove (56) is the latest and most important in a long line of confidants who formed the original Bush team to have left.
The Mpumalanga man who decapitated his Siberian Husky puppy with a chainsaw earlier this year has died in a car accident, according to newspaper reports. Phillip Matthysen (31) was thrown from his black Toyota Land Cruiser when it rolled several times on the R50 to Delmas in the early hours on Sunday.
Jacques Kallis has resigned as South Africa’s vice-captain following his omission from the country’s Twenty20 world championship squad. He also said on Monday he was considering his playing future in the wake of his non-selection. Selection convenor Joubert Strydom said Kallis was being rested for the tournament, which will be played in South Africa in September.
Mzamo Xala disavows the term ”black diamond” — conferred on members of South Africa’s booming black middle class who now hold nearly a third of the country’s buying power. The expression implies superiority, he protested, which offends the collective-mindedness of his cultural background.