Somali leaders met with regional government ministers on Tuesday to try to find a way to empower Somalia’s United Nations-backed government, which watched from the sidelines as a fundamentalist Islamic militia battled warlords and seized its capital.
Coal supplies to Zimbabwe’s main power stations have been massively scaled down, further crippling electricity supply in the struggling Southern African country. Power cuts took a rapid turn for the worse this weekend, with residents of some parts of Harare and other cities reporting cuts lasting up to seven hours every day since Friday.
A German gentleman criminal who vanished with his employer’s truck full of money and enjoyed a spendthrift life at a beachside home in South Africa was sent to jail on Monday for 46 months for theft. Goetz Decker (47) was nabbed after he bragged to German television and a newspaper about his lifestyle and girlfriends.
The first efforts to build the Panama canal more than 120 years ago led to about 30 000 deaths, landslides and personal humiliation for the legendary French engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps. Now an attempt is being made to launch a vast venture which would carve a new lane through the country and catapult Panama from ”the Third World to the First” in the space of less than a decade.
China’s largest refiner Sinopec has acquired stakes in Angolan oil exploration blocks, state press reported on Tuesday, marking another success in the Asian nation’s global quest for more sources of fuel. The three blocks have total proven reserves of 3,2-billion barrels of oil and are expected to boost oil production for Sinopec by 100 000 barrels a day.
Beijing’s preparations for the 2008 Olympics have been hit by a high-level corruption scandal that has led to the dismissal of a vice-mayor accused of accepting bribes and sexual favours. Liu Zhihua, who oversaw the construction of the sporting venues that will be used for the games, is under investigation for allegedly taking more than 10-million yuan (,2-million) from developers.
The new four-course prix fixe menu at Cyrano’s Bistrot in downtown Chicago is something of a snip at . But before diners head for the French restaurant they might want to take a closer look at the dishes on offer. Grilled steak haché should fit in with the rest of the establishment’s offerings. But bone-marrow gateau is not renowned as a classic of the Bergerac region in which the bistro specialises.
Turkey’s tortuous European Union (EU) membership negotiations inched forward on Monday night after EU foreign ministers resolved a dispute with Cyprus over Ankara’s relations with the Greek half of the island. The Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, was due to fly into Luxembourg late on Monday night for a mini-summit.
Western diplomats and disarmament experts reacted with alarm on Monday to Afghan government plans to arm hundreds of southern villagers against resurgent Taliban fighters. ”There is considerable disquiet,” said Peter Babbington, director of a national disarmament programme.
George Hallett’s Portraits of African Writers begins with his tutorship under writer Richard Rive in the late Fifties and ends with studies of today’s exceptional talent.