The Mail & Guardian has identified a notorious international fugitive as part of Glenn Agliotti’s former circle of intimates — adding a new twist to the probe of Agliotti’s relationship with police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. Antonio Lamas, as he was then known, joined the group around Agliotti in the late 1990s.
The Western Cape department of health has refused to reinstate the Khayelitsha healthcare workers who were dismissed on June 11 during the public strike, despite high court Judge Siraj Desai’s ruling that healthcare facilities be restored to a functional state. If an agreement is reached with National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union the department will be obliged to reinstate the workers.
The Regional Land Claims Commission in Limpopo has been accused of accepting land claims at least five years after the December 1998 deadline. And the local farmers’ association says a farmer’s wife suffered a stroke on being told on May 29 that such a claim had been lodged to her family’s land.
Attackers fired a rocket on Friday at a plane carrying Côte d’Ivoire Prime Minister Guillaume Soro as it landed at an airport, killing at least three people, but Soro survived, a top adviser told the media. The plane was landing at Bouake in the centre of the strife-torn country, Soro’s stronghold, when it came under attack.
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There was ”broad consensus” at the African National Congress’s (ANC) policy conference in Midrand on the need for a developmental state with more government intervention, but ratings agencies need not worry, the party said on Thursday. ”We’re not sending out a threatening message,” said the ANC’s Jeremy Cronin.
British pop group the Spice Girls are to reform for a world tour spreading their ”girl power” message — including a stop in Cape Town — but it will only be a one-off event. The 1990s all-female band will play 11 dates in cities on six continents in December this year and January next year.
United States President George Bush suffered a major defeat on his plan to overhaul US immigration laws on Thursday when the Senate refused to close debate and advance the legislation. The Bill would have given a path to US citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
Thursday was described as the ”toughest yet” by a delegate at the African National Congress (ANC) policy conference in Midrand. ”It was the toughest … there are different views in terms of the decision to nominate a presidential candidate,” said Ernest Makopo from Gauteng.
Wildfires swept through Greece on Thursday, killing two people and destroying homes after days of record high temperatures that led to at least nine heatstroke deaths and extensive power cuts. An explosion in a power substation in Thessaloniki caused power failures of up to six hours.