Taliban insurgents will release 19 South Korean Christian volunteers they have been holding for more than a month in Afghanistan, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said on Tuesday. The announcement followed the resumption of negotiations that had been on hold for two weeks.
Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scorer of the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final, retired from football aged 34 on Tuesday after a long run of knee injuries. Solskjaer confirmed his decision on the club’s website and said: ”I would like to thank the manager, the coaching and medical staff and most of all the supporters.”
More than 100 000 people have been affected by floods in Ethiopia and 17 have died of waterborne disease, the United Nations said on Tuesday. ”Approximately 103 000 people have been affected by floods,” UN humanitarian agency Ocha said in a report following days of heavy rains.
The South African Constitution allows for the freedom of expression and for ordinary citizens’ participation in government by raising concerns in the form of petitions and protest marches. However, protests are being "censored" by government authorities, says the Freedom of Expression Network.
The Tshwane metro council has been forbidden to replace the name Pretoria with Tshwane on route and guidance signs pending the outcome of an application to stop the name change. Pretoria High Court Judge Bill Prinsloo on Tuesday granted an urgent interim interdict to the Freedom Front Plus and AfriForum.
The Johannesburg municipality’s evictions of people from derelict buildings should be declared in breach of the law, the Constitutional Court was told on Tuesday. The municipality should also be told to fix up its problems, submitted lawyer Geoff Budlender for the Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions, a Swiss-based NGO.
Hundreds of hard-line supporters of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe will stage a show of strength in support of the veteran president in the capital, Harare, on Wednesday, organisers said. ”The solidarity march is in support of President Robert Mugabe and his policies,” said Joseph Chinotimba of the war veterans’ association.
A series of United States-led air and ground assaults in Iraqi flashpoints has killed at least 41 suspected rebels, the American military said on Tuesday. Eight militants were killed and 11 detained in separate ground and air assaults in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk and central province of Salaheddin, it said, adding that both operations were aimed at al-Qaeda.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting leads the nominations for this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) annual awards, figuring in as many as four individual categories. The 32-year-old Ponting, who led Australia to an unprecedented hat-trick of World Cup titles in West Indies in April, is in the race to retain both the Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year awards.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) failed to pose critical questions when reporting on the South African Communist Party ‘s (SACP) R500 000 missing donation saga, MPs heard on Tuesday. SACP member Sizwe Shezi told the National Assembly’s communication committee that the public broadcaster’s current reporting style left much to be desired.