Islamic militia on Wednesday seized control of a strategic township near the Ethiopian border from Somalia’s transitional government, further expanding their territory, officials and residents said. There were no reported casualties in the clash, which saw only a brief exchange of fire at about 7am local time.
Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool said on Wednesday that Women’s Day amounts to nothing if the celebrations take place against a backdrop of lack of delivery. "Women’s Day celebrations should be accompanied by the delivery of services … ," Rasool told thousands of women who had gathered at the Gugulethu sports complex to celebrate Women’s Day.
Veterans of the 1956 women’s march returned to Pretoria on Women’s Day on Wednesday to march on the Union Buildings as they did 50 years ago. The benefits of freedom must reach everyone, women told President Thabo Mbeki at the Union Buildings. ”This constitutes a failure when we say the fruits of our liberation have not reached our women,” Mbeki agreed.
A new study by researchers in the US says African healthcare workers are contracting HIV faster than they are being lured abroad by better-paying jobs
The Ugandan army announced on Wednesday it had killed at least eight Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the past week despite peace talks aimed at ending nearly 19 years of insurgency in the region. Army spokesperson Lieutenant Chris Magezi said the rebel fighters were slain during ambushes in the war-ravaged northern Gulu, Pader and Amur districts.
Two Norwegians and two Ukrainians working on an oil supply vessel in Nigeria have been kidnapped, the Norwegian government and the ship operators said on Wednesday. ”Two Norwegians and two Ukrainians were kidnapped late on Tuesday while they were on a Norwegian offshore supply vessel,” foreign ministry spokesperson Frode Andersen said.
With South African women remaining society’s most vulnerable members, the country still has not achieved the kind of nation the marchers 50 years ago would be proud of, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon said on Wednesday. He said that 50 years onwards, women actually have less to celebrate.
Former South Africa captain Mbulelo Mabizela has returned home to play for Mamelodi Sundowns after being released by Norwegian champions Valerenga, his new club announced on Tuesday. The 25-year-old, who was South Africa’s youngest-ever captain, is the latest in a series of recent high-profile signings by champions Sundowns.
Captain Aaron Mokoena and five other foreign-based players make their return to South Africa’s squad for the first time this year in a friendly against neighbours Namibia in Windhoek on August 16. Caretaker coach Pitso Mosimane on Tuesday brought back the Blackburn Rovers defender plus Bradley Carnell, Quinton Fortune, Steven Pienaar, Nasief Morris and MacBeth Sibaya.
Israeli troops thrust deeper into Lebanon on Wednesday and were reported to have lost four dead to Hezbollah rocket fire as Israel’s inner cabinet debated whether to order a bigger advance before any United Nations move to end the war. A vote on a UN Security Council resolution may not take place before Thursday because of wrangling over its content.