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.
New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown named a rising star and reported critic of the Iraq war, David Miliband, as Foreign Minister on Thursday in a wide-ranging government shake-up. The jobs given to other Brown allies underlined the priorities of his policy agenda.
Independent market research has found that more than two-thirds of Capetonians are in favour of the Green Point Stadium, City of Cape Town officials said on Thursday. ”These are exciting and gratifying scientific results, and it shows a growing excitement in Cape Town,” said the city’s director of service-delivery integration.
A Boeing 737 belonging to Angola’s state TAAG airline crashed in the northern city of M’banza Congo on Thursday, killing at least six people and badly injuring others, Angola’s Angop news agency said. The airplane was carrying 78 passengers and was en route from Luanda to M’Banza Congo, which is in northern Angola.