Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin on Tuesday called for bold steps by the private and public sectors to use the current economic realities for continued and increased growth. Speaking in debate on his Budget vote in the National Council of Provinces, Erwin said the past two or three years have shown the economy is very robust and competitive.
East African ministers on Tuesday sought ways of ending a devastating conflict in Somalia as Kenya pushed regional states to impose wider travel sanctions on warlords blamed for igniting the latest round of fighting in the capital, Mogadishu. The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development also called for support for a powerless transitional government.
Moroccan authorities have launched a wave of repression to stem the growing influence of an illegal Islamist movement, which many observers are already describing as the country’s biggest de-facto political party. Al Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality) is now so popular it would probably win elections if it was legalised and decided to enter politics, analysts said.
Turkish prosecutors are investigating an English artist for exhibiting a collage that depicts Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a dog receiving a prize in a pet show from United States President George Bush. Michael Dickinson, a long-time resident of Istanbul, displayed the collage in March without permission from the organisers of an Istanbul show.
Members of Parliament have been told to lay off the bottle and stick to tap water. ”There is no need to use bottled water in Parliament; you can use tap water … there is nothing wrong with it,” Water Research Commission CEO Dr Rivka Kfir told members of the National Assembly’s science and technology committee.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni raised the possibility on Tuesday that a blast that killed eight Palestinian civilians last week on a beach was due to a terrorist’s bomb and not Israeli shell fire. The Palestinians were killed as a result of an explosion on a beach in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday as they picnicked on one of the hottest days of the year.
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille was acting as if she was a ”mayor in opposition”, unable to rise above the interests of her party, the Democratic Alliance, African National Congress Western Cape chairperson James Ngculu said on Tuesday. Ngculu was addressing a media briefing in the city after a two-day meeting of his provincial executive.
From the hangman whose rope snaps to paramedics who can’t find a vein for a lethal injection, death penalty executions in the United States have sometimes been sorry affairs. To the end of the 19th century executions were largely carried out by hanging. When done properly the condemned falls and snaps his neck, dying instantly
Two police officers patrolling the beach in a sport utility vehicle ran over and killed a sunbather, who was in California to attend her son’s wedding. The officers in the patrol vehicle did not immediately realise they ran over the woman and continued driving, police Commander Tom Chronister said in a statement on Monday.
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Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe will be given a warning about smoking on the touchlines at the World Cup after he lit up during the 3-1 victory over Iran, world soccer governing body Fifa said on Tuesday. Fifa officials spotted Lavolpe smoking when they reviewed the videotape of Sunday’s match in Nuremberg.