When the idea of building a new United States embassy in Baghdad was first mooted by the American administration in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq, there seemed to be a grandiose logic to it. The compound, by the side of the Tigris, would be a statement of President George Bush’s intent to expand democracy through the Middle East.
British fire crews are battling a blaze on the Cutty Sark, the famous 19th-century tea clipper moored as a tourist attraction in south-east London, a fire service spokesperson said on Monday. Television pictures showed the ship well ablaze with flames leaping high into the air.
China has signalled during a week of high-level diplomatic wrangling over the Darfur crisis that it is unlikely to bend to global pressure and change its much-criticised policies on Sudan. Beijing has been showered with condemnation over its support for the Khartoum government, accused of shielding Sudan from sanctions and abetting genocide in Darfur.
South African retailer Woolworths on Monday unveiled a black economic empowerment (BEE) deal, whereby Woolworths employees will acquire approximately 10% of the group’s ordinary issued share capital. Woolworths will create a new class of convertible, redeemable, non-cumulative participating preference shares with a value 15 cents each.
Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe was not informed of the audit on the new electronic national traffic information system (eNaTIS), his spokesperson Collen Msibi said on Sunday. He said it appeared Radebe had been the last person to be told of the report.
Former United States president Jimmy Carter unleashed a torrent of criticism against President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the weekend, in which he accused the Bush presidency of being the ”worst in history” and said Blair’s support had been abominable and subservient.
Oasis Group Holdings has dropped its case against Judge Siraj Desai and has offered to pay his costs, the company said at the weekend. The company had charged Desai with defamation in connection with remarks the judge allegedly made at a public meeting held to discuss a property development.
Despite being an MPV, the new Mazda 5 makes its somewhat chunky appearance rather becoming, and its agility adds to its appeal. Driving the 5 in Cape Town was an absolute pleasure; it accelerates easily, feels composed at all times — even when being driven hard — and fits its marketing slogan of being "surprisingly stimulating", writes Sukasha Singh.
The last time Sweden went to war was in 1814, when it mopped up the placid old Norwegians in just 20 days. Now, with the launch of the new Volvo C30, the normally peace-loving Scandinavians have taken on the mob at which they resisted having a crack in the last major conflict in Europe — the Germans and the Italians.
Travelling into Palestine’s West Bank and Gaza Strip, which I visited recently, is like a surreal trip back into an apartheid state of emergency. It is chilling to pass through the myriad checkpoints — more than 500 in the West Bank. They are controlled by heavily armed soldiers, youthful but grim, tensely watching every movement, fingers on the trigger.