Somali children are at risk from unexploded ordnance around the capital, Mogadishu, where daily fighting has forced 27Â 000 people to flee since June, United Nations agencies said on Friday. Bombing and gun battles in the capital prevent families from working or buying food, the United Nations refugee agency said.
The son of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was one of a gang of men jailed for stabbing a teenager to death near a London underground station, a British judge revealed on Friday. Faisal Wangita (25) was one of 13 men convicted over the killing of Mahir Osman in January 2006. Osman was stabbed more than 20 times in a feud between rival gangs.
Darfur’s fractious rebel groups gathered in Tanzania on Friday for talks aimed at hammering out a united front following United Nations approval of a beefed-up peacekeeping mission in the Sudanese region. Sponsored by the African Union and UN, the meeting in the town of Arusha will seek to define a common stance among the rebels.
The tens of thousands of Zimbabwean refugees streaming south are a threat to South Africa’s stability, says Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Their numbers had increased from 4Â 000 a month in 2004 to 20Â 000 a month, he said in his weekly newsletter on Friday.
Taxpayers will be able to file their tax returns online by Monday, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday. Commissioner Pravin Gordhan told reporters in Johannesburg that the new electronic filing system would enable taxpayers to have their assessments done easier and faster.
South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni told MPs on Friday that there can be no question of linking the Zimbabwean dollar to the rand. He said to the portfolio committee on finance that the matter has not been considered by the Reserve Bank, nor by the Zimbabwean Reserve Bank, nor has it been raised by the Zimbabwean Finance Ministry.
Afrikaans music pioneers NuL, Riku Latti and Thys Nywerheid invaded Jo’burg last week. Lloyd Gedye was there for the ride.
South Africa’s leading rugby players have been dealt a heavy blow after the country’s rugby bosses decided that players basing themselves abroad would no longer be eligible for the national rugby team. The decision on Thursday means some of the Springbok superstars will play their last matches for their country at this year’s World Cup in France.
President Thabo Mbeki should be commended for promoting the appointment of women to senior posts in his government, Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said on Friday. ”As we look forward to celebrating Women’s Day next Thursday, it is heartening to track the progress we have made in advancing gender rights in the last few years,” she said.
At least 50 people are dead and 148 others are missing after a coastal ferry capsized overnight in rough seas off northern Sierra Leone, a port official said on Friday. ”According to the report we received, 50 people perished, two were rescued while 148 others remain unaccounted for,” the official, who asked not to be named, said.