Uganda will enter talks with leaders of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army guerrillas without preconditions if they give up arms and denounce war, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday. The government will also be willing to pardon rebel commander Joseph Kony and his four commanders who are wanted for trial by the United Nation’s International Criminal Court.
A Vietnamese company plans to turn catfish fat into biofuel to run diesel engines, with industrial-scale production set to start next year, an official of the firm said Tuesday. Catfish exporter Agifish said it had won government approval to build a factory in the southern Mekong delta province of An Giang in 2007 and produce about 10-million litres of the fuel per year.
Violence in Western Cape club rugby reared its head again when spectators, including a knife-wielding man, invaded a rugby field in Clanwilliam, the Argus reported on Tuesday. Its website said the fight broke out towards the end of the game between the Clanwilliam Rugby Club and the Delicious club of Clanwilliam on Saturday.
Renowned Turkish-American record producer Arif Mardin, who worked with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Queen and David Bowie, has died of pancreatic cancer in New York at the age of 74, his family said in Istanbul on Monday. Mardin produced music legends such as Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, the Bee Gees and Phil Collins.
The Department of Labour has issued an ultimatum to its employees, who earlier on Tuesday embarked on an unprotected strike, to resume work or face disciplinary action. The staff members of the Compensation Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund have downed tools over the department’s decision to phase out an incentive bonus scheme.
Former Norwegian prime minister Lars Korvald died early on Tuesday aged 90, his Christian Democratic party announced. Korvald served as the party’s first prime minister in a centrist coalition government with the Centre Party and the Liberal Party between October 1972 and October 1973.
The United States government is stepping in to wash potty mouths and clothe exposed bodies on the national airwaves, with new fines that increase penalties tenfold for violating decency standards. The new measures, signed into law in mid-June by President George Bush, culminate years of pressure from religious conservative groups to ”clean up” the airwaves.
Authorities in Kenya said on Tuesday they had smashed a massive fraud ring that was bilking the country’s famed national parks and wildlife reserves of millions of dollars in entrance fees each year. At least 75 people, including employees of the Kenya Wildlife Service, tour guides and operators have been arrested, they said.
French arms dealer Thint on Tuesday lost its application to have a search warrant declared invalid and documents seized from its offices by the Scorpions returned. The search-and-seizure warrants, granted by Judge President Bernard Ngoepe, form part of the Scorpions’ investigation into allegations of corruption, money laundering, fraud and related offences.
Officials said on Tuesday they had recovered the black box that could confirm government speculation that excess speed caused a metro-train accident in Valencia, in which 41 people were killed. ”The black box has been found and is in the hands of our agents,” said Jose Ramon Garcia Anton, head of infrastructure in the regional government.