The Lion King will come to the South African stage in 2007 as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations. Co-producers Lebo M and Pieter Toerien said on Wednesday the Disney Production will be performed in the Teatro, a 1 900-seat theatre, the largest in South Africa, currently being built at Montecasino in Johannesburg.
The scramble for Africa has taken on new meaning with different terrorist groups wanting to get their hands on Africa’s resources for funding, and on its people for warfare, a conference on terrorism in Johannesburg heard on Wednesday. Somewhere between -million and -million worth of uncut gems are smuggled out of Sierra Leone each year.
Alarming numbers of young children are dying in Angola four years after the Southern African country’s long-running civil war ended, said a report on Wednesday by Médécins Sans Frontières (MSF). ”The mortality for children under five is almost three times higher than levels expected in developing countries,” said MSF in a statement.
A street parking attendant in Brazil’s crime-ridden city of Rio de Janeiro was charged with sawing a woman in two over a parking-space dispute, police said on Wednesday. The 29-year-old male suspect was arrested on Tuesday night and confessed to murdering businesswoman Edna Souza (51) in a house she was trying to rent, a police spokesperson said.
The Zimbabwean government’s clean-up operation, Murambatsvina, has left the informal sector in misery and disarray, the Solidarity Peace Trust said on Wednesday. The informal sector, in which 90% of Zimbabweans eke out a living, has been criminalised by the very government that should protect their rights, trust chairperson Archbishop Pius Ncube said.
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) chairperson Zackie Achmat on Wednesday appealed directly to his African National Congress (ANC) ”comrades” to support the TAC’s call for the minister of health to be sacked. Achmat made the call during a special address to the Cape Town city council.
Business against Crime South Africa on Wednesday announced the appointment of Siphiwe Nzimande to replace Kenny Fihla as the organisation’s CEO. Fihla has stepped down as CEO at the conclusion of his three-year contract. Nzimande held the post of commercial director at Murray and Roberts Construction before joining Business against Crime.
Grade 11 pupils will write a nationally set end-of-year examination in 2007 to prepare them for the new National Senior Certificate (matric) exams to be introduced in 2008, the Department of Education said on Tuesday. Schools have already received a national examination for Grade 10 pupils this year, but it will only be used as example for teachers to set exams.
Tropical Storm Ernesto weakened further on Wednesday as it swirled over southern Florida, where residents heaved a sigh of relief it had not regained hurricane strength. Contrary to expectations, Ernesto did not strengthen after leaving the Cuban coast, and remained a weak tropical storm when it hit Florida late on Tuesday.
Only 45% of workers support the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) remaining part of the tripartite alliance, a survey has shown. Most workers surveyed felt that the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and Cosatu should work harder to overcome their disagreements, Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said on Wednesday.