The armed Basque separatist group ETA said on Tuesday it was ending a ”permanent” ceasefire declared last year, accusing the Spanish government of persecuting the group instead of negotiating with it. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero immediately labelled the move a ”mistake” and asked the outfit to definitively eschew violence.
A 31-year-old man accused of keeping girls as sex slaves in an underground hideout is expected to appear in the Cape High Court on Wednesday. Johannes Mowers was believed to be behind a two-year reign of terror in the Hemel en Aarde community in Hermanus and is believed to have kept under-aged girls as sex slaves in a hide-out.
New boys, lame ducks and a problem child head to Germany on Wednesday for a Group of Eight (G8) summit that will address the world’s most pressing concerns. The annual major power jamboree is meant to focus on policies, but personalities might steal the limelight this year thanks to significant changes to the longstanding cast list.
Diamond giant De Beers said on Tuesday that its 2006 Diamond Trading Company sales reached $6,15-billion — the second highest figure ever achieved. The 2006 sales were down from 2005’s record $6,5-billion, reflecting reduced purchases from Alrosa in line with the commitments given to the European Commission.
News items on disease, conflict and corruption in Africa are crowding out positive stories of burgeoning economies on the continent, speakers at a global technology and design meeting said this week. Many African economies are booming and attracting interest from people keen to invest in them despite hurdles such as bad roads, erratic power supply or insecurity, they added.
Motorists should not put ”pressure on the pumps” ahead of Wednesday’s fuel-price hike as some filling stations may run dry, the South African Petroleum Retailers’ Association said. Spokesperson Peter Noke said Gauteng has been experiencing fuel shortages, and on Monday 23 Engen petrol stations were without fuel for the entire day.
Kenyan police have killed at least 21 suspected members of a banned sect in a Nairobi slum in retaliation for the killing of two police officers, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday. ”Following the killing of two police officers … 21 people who were resisting arrest were killed” overnight, said national police spokesperson Eric Kiraithe.
When it comes to money, Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira clearly thinks in big figures. But after Parreira had criticised the South African Football Association for balking over meeting Uruguay’s pay demands for a friendly game against Bafana, the national association countered with an equally firm, if veiled, rebuke.
England, and in particular manager Steve McClaren, face a make-or-break test against Estonia in Tallinn on Wednesday. Victories for their three main Euro 2008 qualification rivals on Saturday left England fourth in group E and trailing leaders Croatia by five points.
England’s ”Barmy Army” of travelling cricket fans helped boost the Australian economy by -million during the Ashes and one-day series, Cricket Australia said on Tuesday. An Economic Impact Study released by CA and the Australian government found that the Ashes and subsequent one-day series helped attract 37 000 international visitors to Australia.