At least 70 people were killed on Tuesday when a strong earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra, toppling buildings and sparking panic in the streets of nearby Malaysia and Singapore. CNN reported that hundreds of buildings had collapsed on the island, and local officials said hospitals were quickly overwhelmed.
Sudan’s state news agency said Khartoum would try Ali Kushayb, summoned by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a suspect for war crimes in the Darfur region. The ICC has described Kushayb as a militia leader but Khartoum says he is a member of the Popular Defence Forces, a section within the Sudanese army.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) needs a proactive networked response particularly when it appears together with HIV infection, an international discussion on MDR-TB heard in Johannesburg on Monday. ”It is one disease where there are more questions than answers,” said Dr Norbert Ndjeka from Limpopo.
Old Mutual’s range of smoothed funds has delivered record-breaking returns of between 23,8% and 26,2% in 2006, says Steven Levin, general manager: products at Old Mutual. With year-on-year inflation at 5,8%, these funds have provided above-inflation returns of 18% and more in 2006.
Although South African investors displayed resilience to global market jitters sparked by China when the Shanghai 180 index fell more than 9,25% last Tuesday, the local stock market did not escape the sudden volatility. While the JSE all-share index got off reasonably light, the trouble in China resulted in a double whammy for South Africa.
The body of a seven-year-old girl abducted from her Pretoria home last month was found on Monday with the help from a police investigator who broke the Leigh Matthews kidnap and murder case, said police. The body believed to be that of Sheldean Human was found in a small river in Pretoria West.
Ugandan soldiers landed in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, the first African Union peacekeepers to arrive in the city where the interim government and its Ethiopian allies face almost daily guerrilla attacks. Sixteen Ugandan soldiers were aboard the unmarked Russian-made Antonov cargo plane that flew into Mogadishu’s international airport.
Fearful of soaring internet addiction and juvenile crime, China has banned the opening of new internet cafés this year. The ban comes as lawmakers at China’s annual session of Parliament, the National People’s Congress, called for stricter regulations to keep teenagers away from internet cafés.
At least two South Korean power generators said they aim to buy coal from South Africa despite the distance and costly freight as utilities face delays from regular suppliers. Coal is taking longer to arrive from China, Australia, Indonesia and Russia due to growing domestic demand in those countries.
Microsoft is taking aim at Google’s rival book-scanning project, saying the search company ”systematically violates copyright”. In prepared remarks he is scheduled to deliver on Tuesday to a publishing industry group, a Microsoft lawyer also said Google is cutting into the profits of authors and publishers.