Six more youths have lost their penises as a result of bungled circumcisions in the Eastern Cape, the provincial health department said on Monday. Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said 18 would-be initiates were admitted to hospital in Port St Johns last week, of whom four had to have their septic penises amputated.
A meeting to resolve a continuing pay dispute and prevent a possible action at Eskom will take place this week, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday. Three unions together representing over 20 000 Eskom employees have threatened industrial action should the parastatal fail to meet their 12% wage demand.
Chadian rebels fighting a hit-and-run guerrilla war against President Idriss Déby Itno said on Monday that failure to clinch a deal at peace talks in Tripoli would mean a return to all-out hostilities. Libya brokered the talks to try to end an insurgency by a coalition of rebels fighting government forces in eastern Chad.
Cuba has sent about 60 doctors to Angola to reinforce the African nation’s crumbling health system and strengthen ties between the two Cold War allies, Angola’s state-run news agency said on Monday. The surgeons, paediatricians and other specialists who make up the Cuban group began arriving in Luanda on Saturday, Angop reported.
Climate change in South Africa could drive thousands of species to extinction in the next 50 to 80 years, Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena said in Port Elizabeth on Monday. Mangena was opening the annual conference of the Society for Conservation Biology, an organisation that advances the science and practice of conserving biological diversity.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) awaits the release of crime statistics with bated breath, the party said on Monday. Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula is expected to release the crime statistics on Tuesday. The DA spokesperson on safety and security said the party hoped the crime statistics would restore the public’s faith in the police’s ability to fight crime.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on China, whose rapid industrial growth has turned it into one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, to do more to tackle climate change. ”China is one of the biggest emitters and should take part … in common efforts to address these climate-change issues,” Ban told journalists.
Judges at the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone have delayed the war-crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor until August 20 so a new defence team has time to prepare, a court spokesperson said on Monday. Taylor has boycotted his trial since it began in June, saying he has inadequate funds to mount a proper defence.
It is already famous for its brash spending, high prices and love affair with designer labels. But on Sunday Moscow confirmed its reputation as the world’s most decadently expensive city with the opening of a luxury hotel aimed at the mega-rich.
Zimbabwe’s government on Monday threatened to close businesses defying its order to halve prices, accusing them of working to topple President Robert Mugabe. Mugabe’s government last week ordered a 50% cut in the prices of basic goods and services after prices shot up by as much as 300% in a week.