An agreement between Equity Aviation and the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) was signed on Monday, averting planned industrial action. Satawu threatened to go on strike last week over the company docking pay from employees across the board for the offences of individuals. Wage demands were also a factor.
A Briton held in Zimbabwe after allegedly masterminding a failed coup in Equatorial Guinea, which wants him extradited, has applied for permission to stay while undergoing surgery, a court heard on Monday. In a letter submitted to a Harare magistrate who is considering the request to extradite Simon Mann, the Briton’s lawyer said his client was very sick.
Urine samples from cyclist Floyd Landis taken during his contested win in the 2006 Tour de France have tested positive for the banned substance testosterone, L’Equipe sports daily reported on Monday. On its website, L’Equipe reported that ”B” samples belonging to the American had been tested retrospectively.
The African National Congress (ANC) provincial executive committee in the Free State on Monday dismissed a failed court challenge to its leadership as ”counter-revolutionary”. ”The matter referred to the court has never been a legal matter but has always been a political matter,” said Free State ANC deputy chairperson Pat Matosa.
India on Monday successfully placed an Italian astronomical satellite into orbit, marking its entry into an exclusive group of nations conducting commercial space launches, officials said. The Indian Space Research Organisation launched the 352kg Italian satellite Agile atop its rocket, the PSLV-C8 from the Sriharikota spaceport.
Clashes between Ethiopian troops and Islamist insurgents on Monday killed at least 37 people and raised the death toll to 256 from six days of fighting, a rights group said. Mutilated bodies lay rotting in the streets under the blistering sun, said witnesses.
President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday said he was committed to working with the United Nations, which has deployed 17 600 peacekeepers in the Central African nation. ”The president has said that it’s important to continue working together with the United Nations,” UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro said.
A top Sudanese government official on Monday offered a two-month halt in military operations in strife-torn Darfur to allow for rebel groups to join the peace process. ”The government forces will not conduct military operations in Darfur for the next two months,” presidential adviser Majzub al-Khalifa Ahmed said.
A website has zeroed in on the road rage of South Africans by developing an online game that allows them to beat up the usual targets of their ire — minibus taxi drivers — and smash their vehicle to smithereens. Players of Taxi Wars can choose from among five weapons — a fist, a paint can, a golf club, a screwdriver and a plastic vuvuzela.
Contrary to what has been said in response to my recent and not-too-recent commentaries on the New Chinatown in Johannesburg’s Cyrildene, I actually like the place. I also like the people. I buy most of my vegetables there and have a direct interaction with the people who are selling them. Language issues notwithstanding, we come to an agreement.