A decision to seize white-owned land if negotiations linger or end in deadlock is paying off with more and more farmers accepting the price offered by the state, a top land official said on Wednesday. ”These farmers have become more supportive because we are cracking the whip,” chief land claims commissioner Tozi Gwanya said in an interview.
A 50-year-old man is believed to have died from the rare anthrax disease, British health officials said on Wednesday, in the first apparent case in Scotland in nearly 20 years. The man, who lived in the Scottish Borders region, died on July 8 after a short illness and laboratory tests have shown that the disease is likely to have been the cause of death, health officials said.
Iraqi security forces fought Shi’ite militias in several southern cities on Wednesday as the embattled government tried once more to impose its authority on the divided country. Government troops regained control of the holy city of Karbala after killing ten members of a Shi’ite cleric’s private army, arresting 281 more and imposing a strict curfew on the town.
Negotiations to end a pay strike by workers at Shoprite Checkers will begin in Johannesburg on Friday, the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu) said on Wednesday. ”Shoprite requested the CCMA [Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration] to intervene and a meeting has been set up for August 18,” said Saccawu negotiator Thoko Mchunu.
Islamists controlling much of southern Somalia said on Wednesday that at least 100 government soldiers had defected to their side, dealing a new blow to the weak transitional administration. The troops, along with seven machine-gun mounted pick-ups known as ”battlewagons” or ”technicals”, crossed into Islamist territory overnight, officials said.
The JSE pared its early gains to just a six point increase by midday on Wednesday as traders awaited key United States inflation data and as the market absorbed a weaker FTSE market. Gold shares, however, continued to lead the pack. By 11.52am, the all-share index was up a mere 0,03% after being up 0,40% in early trade.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe, an independent and self-regulating professional body of Zimbabwean lawyers, is under increasing attack by the government of Zimbabwe, according to Nicole Fritz, director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. She said two recent articles made plain the Zimbabwean government’s intention to clamp down on the law society.
A trailer carrying dozens of puppies to pet stores caught fire just off an interstate highway in Massachusetts in the United States, killing all of the estimated 60 dogs inside, authorities said. The driver first noticed smoke coming from his trailer just before 5pm local time on Monday, state police said.
Aquarium officials in St Louis in the United States hope an exhibit that opens next week and runs until September 5 will earn a Guinness World Record for the most two-headed animals on display, according to a media report. So far, the World Aquarium at the City Museum has lined up 10 two-headed snakes and turtles.
Scientists in Australia have discovered a fossilised ancient relative of the blue whale with a fearsome razor-toothed appearance that has seen it dubbed ”the T. rex of the oceans”. The fossil is the latest in a list of ancient creatures, including the unlikely sounding ”demon duck of doom”, that are reshaping views of Australia’s prehistoric past.