Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Monday accused the government of sponsoring recent acts of violence, including petrol-bombing incidents, to justify a major crackdown on the resurgent party. The police have accused the MDC of leading a ”militia-style” campaign of violence to topple President Robert Mugabe from power.
Britain kept up pressure on Zimbabwe on Monday, saying it would work to isolate an increasingly vulnerable President Robert Mugabe and calling on African nations to confront him. Mugabe’s government has been widely condemned for violently suppressing a March 11 rally in which scores of Mugabe opponents were arrested.
Former prisoners have urged the government to reduce the period for which a criminal record is kept to five years, as it limits their chances of ”going straight”, a conference heard on Monday.
An ad-hoc committee to inquire whether Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled the provincial legislature will be named by Wednesday, Western Cape speaker Shaun Byneveldt said. A March 13 call by the Democratic Alliance for an investigation into the matter was unexpectedly supported by Rasool’s African National Congress, and by other parties in the legislature.
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi won Mauritania’s historic presidential election with 52,85% of the vote, the interior minister said on Monday. Ould Abdallahi, who was backed by supporters of Mauritania’s ousted dictator Maaouiya Ould Taya and who has vowed to become a ”reassuring president”, beat Ahmed Ould Daddah in the second-round run-off of the poll.
All stadiums will have a construction company on site by the end of the week in preparation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the local organising committee (LOC) said on Monday. LOC chairperson Irvin Khoza, CEO Danny Jordaan and Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile were briefing the media in Johannesburg after the LOC board meeting.
Fires in the Free State have already destroyed more than 60 000ha of veld, the provincial department of water affairs and forestry said on Monday. Spokesperson Malcolm Proctor said last year’s figure of 69 000ha destroyed will probably be exceeded by next week. ”This is bad,” he said.
An accidental drug overdose caused last month’s sudden death of former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith, Florida officials said on Monday. The death of the flamboyant billionaire’s widow at a Florida casino-hotel on February 8 triggered a media frenzy and bitter legal feud over her remains and the custody of her 6-month-old daughter, Dannielynn.
The number of jobs created by South African business has increased by 7% this year, a survey released on Monday has shown. According to the latest Grant Thornton employment-growth survey, the percentage represents a significant improvement from last year’s employment figures.
The last two of the politicians allegedly involved in the ”Travelgate” travel-voucher scam made their first appearance in the Cape Town Regional Court on Monday. This follows a Cape High Court order last week that they go on trial in the regional court, rather than the high court.