Ethiopia has never forgotten its boy prince, captured by the British army and taken to England where he died more than a century ago, a lonely, royal orphan and curiosity who still lies entombed in Windsor Castle. Officials in Addis Ababa have stepped up a push to have the remains of Prince Alemayehu repatriated.
Agricultural scientists unveiled a cheap kit on Thursday to let African farmers test crops for a deadly poison that makes them unfit to eat and costs the continent millions of dollars in lost exports. Aflatoxin, a toxic chemical produced by a fungus, develops on maize, groundnuts, sorghum and cassava during hot weather and droughts.
Soweto’s Dube hostel — plagued in recent weeks by violent protests against poor service delivery — resembles a ghost town. Washing swaying in the wind is the only sign of life, along with the dank smell of urine mingled with that of burnt rubbish.
The United Nations intends to send a team of investigators to Côte d’Ivoire next week to investigate sexual abuse. A contingent of 734 peacekeepers from Morocco has been confined to barracks on allegations of sexually exploiting under-age girls.
Italian cycling fans believe making doping legal is the best way to save their troubled sport, according to a popular survey on Wednesday. The Astana team pulled out of the Tour de France on Tuesday after Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov tested positive in the latest in a string of doping scandals to rock cycling.
The United States is looking at deepening sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his supporters but will continue to provide humanitarian aid, a senior US official said on Wednesday. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Fraser also urged South Africa to push for concrete results.
Battered and bruised, the Tour de France begins the 17th stage on Thursday minus its leader. Dane Michael Rasmussen was dramatically dismissed by Rabobank on Wednesday after the Dutch team said he had lied about his training whereabouts in June.
In the clearest indications yet that talks brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), aimed at resolving the crisis in Zimbabwe, will not meet opposition demands for a new constitution, President Robert Mugabe this week pushed ahead with plans to amend the existing Constitution to allow him to hand-pick his successor.
Nearly 5 000 store owners, managers and business executives have been arrested since the Zimbabwe government began its campaign to slash prices last month, state media reported on Thursday. The Herald newspaper said that at least 23 owners and managers of shops and gasoline stations had been arrested on Wednesday.
Tokyo Sexwale’s billiard-ball-like smoothness might develop a scratch or two as the presidential hopeful faces the first real public probe of one aspect of his leadership record. Two of Sexwale’s former comrades, members of the Ex-Political Prisoners’ Committee (EPPC), have gone to court to challenge the way in which he has presided over the Makana Trust, which he chairs.