We reached the mountain top in the Malutis as it began to snow. The icy wind bit into our cheeks. The weather was closing in fast.
Zimbabwe police have banned opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai from addressing a rally in a major town over fears he is mobilising support for anti-government protests. Tsvangirai’s main Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has warned President Robert Mugabe to brace for wave of ”peaceful democratic resistance” against his 26-year rule if he continues to resist political reforms.
Israeli forces pushed through Gaza’s key eastern commercial crossings before dawn on Saturday, killing at least four Palestinians, witnesses and security sources said. Dozens of tanks passed through the Karni and Nahal Oz crossings at the eastern edge of the narrow coastal strip and advanced around one kilometre to neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Gaza City.
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The first World Cup to be hosted in Africa will provide an unparalleled business opportunity in four years time, organisers of South Africa 2010 said in Berlin at a presentation of their wares. Up to five million tourists are expected to flood into South Africa for the month-long jamboree, and the government has committed a R375-billion development package to the project.
It turned out to be the big gamble that paid off as Dick Muir’s decision to field a completely new look Sharks side — he now has two teams of equal strength at his disposal — was vindicated with a 34-16 triumph over the Pumas in their Absa Currie Cup rugby match in Durban on Friday night.
Intel’s attempt to stanch the loss of market share to Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), its smaller rival in the computer microprocessor business, appears to be working and may allow it to gain lost ground over the next six months. AMD on Thursday warned second-quarter revenue would be about .22-billion, or about 9% below the previous period.
Africa needs a fairer financial deal and more involvement in international economic decision-making, said Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel on Friday. ”Reform is necessary, and in my view, if developing countries had a greater say in the running of these institutions, there would be a greater sense of ownership and legitimacy,” Manuel said in a speech.
A vast chunk of Europe’s most ill-famed mountain threatens to break loose and crash down in the next few days, a geologist monitoring the situation said on Friday. Hans-Rudolf Keusen said 2-million cubic metres of the Eiger in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland — twice the volume of the Empire State Building — was rapidly working its way loose.
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President Jacques Chirac will don his football scarf and head to Berlin on Sunday in the hope that a French World Cup win could boost his flagging popularity ratings. He will also be seeking to restore a sense of community spirit after comments by the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen that there were too many non-whites in the national team.
The Democratic Alliance says it hopes Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula will redeem himself with an anti-crime drive he announced on Friday. Nqakula said in Pretoria that police would launch special operations in the coming six months to combat serious and violent crimes.