Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army on Thursday demanded radical changes to the country’s power structure, calling for complete autonomy for their northern region under a new federal Constitution. In addition, the rebels said poverty stricken northern Uganda should get at least 22% of all government revenue under a new wealth-sharing formula.
The Azanian Youth Organisation (Azayo) should pursue its campaign to change South Africa’s name to Azania through Parliament, the Department of Arts and Culture has recommended. The department’s deputy director general, Themba Wakashe, was responding to an Azayo letter to Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan, which said South Africa’s current name reflects the legacy of colonialism.
Police in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kinshasa, fired shots into the air on Thursday to disperse an angry crowd, days after clashes between forces loyal to two rival presidential candidates killed at least 16 people.The incident occurred as a joint European Union and United Nations force patrolled the streets of Kinshasa.
Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota on Thursday sacked Brigadier General Ernest Zwane from his position as director of military prosecutions. This comes after it became known that Zwane has previously been convicted on two counts of fraud and was also convicted of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Heavy rain continued in the southern Cape on Thursday, but without any damage or loss of life reported, police said. However, rescue personnel were anxiously monitoring two large farm dams in the Swellendam area. ”The cracks are showing [in the dam walls],” said Reinard Geldenhuys, disaster manager in the Overberg region.
A Zimbabwean student who allegedly tried to hijack a South African Airways (SAA) flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg may opt for plea-bargain proceedings, the Bellville Regional Court heard on Thursday. The hearing took an unusual turn when University of Cape Town student Tinashe Rioga (21) ended the mandate of attorney Joshua Greeff and appointed attorney Reuben Liddell in his place.
Almost 80% of murders in South Africa are committed by people who know their victim, and most occur in situations where people have been drinking, President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday. ”You have something like … almost 80%, for instance, of murders in the country occur among people who know one another; not among strangers.”
Members of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) staged protests outside government offices around the country on Thursday. The illegal protest was part of a ”global day of action” to pressure the government on its response to HIV/Aids. However, the Department of Health said it will continue to focus on prevention in its fight against HIV/Aids.
France will greatly increase the size of the contingent it is promising for a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, possibly making it easier to recruit other nations, officials and diplomats said on Thursday. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said he expected French President Jacques Chirac to announce a ”substantial increase” in the contribution.
Constitutional Court judges asked on Thursday why the government was not proactively rewriting the law on same-sex partnerships? Judge Kate O’Regan said the court had on ”numerous occasions” called on the state to rewrite the law. ”It needs to be dealt with and it needs to be dealt with urgently,” she said.