Security guards will be urged to accept a revised offer made by their employers after marathon talks, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) said on Friday. ”We are going to report back to our members in a positive light,” Satawu general secretary Randall Howard said after the two-day discussions.
Economically ravaged Zimbabwe’s inflation rate soared to a record high of 1 193,5% for May, officials said on Friday. ”The year-on-year rate of inflation in May 2006 was 1 193,5%, gaining 150,6 percentage points on the April rate of 1 042,9%,” said Moffat Nyoni, acting director of the Central Statistical Office.
A strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6,1 struck on Friday near the Pacific island of Fiji, Australian officials said. Geoscience Australia said the quake hit about 300km north-east of the Fijian capital Suva. The United States Geological Survey earlier described the epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 5.58am GMT, as 563km north-west of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa.
At least two people were killed and six wounded on Friday when rival gunmen clashed in the temporary home of Somalia’s largely powerless transitional government, witnesses said. The fighting, which appeared unrelated to fierce battles between Islamists and a United States-backed warlord alliance, erupted after a dispute over a checkpoint in the town.
South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon has extended a hand to President Thabo Mbeki to assist him in dealing with ”major problems and crises” facing the country. But Leon has warned that the president had in the past refused to accept that his party could oppose the government politically while at the same time cooperate in resolving problems.
An addiction centre is opening Europe’s first detox clinic for video game addicts, offering in-house treatment for people who can’t leave their joysticks alone. Video games may look innocent, but they can be as addictive as gambling or drugs — and just as hard to kick, says Keith Bakker, director of the centre.
Sitting still under a skull cap fitted with a couple of dozen electrodes, American scientist Peter Brunner stares at a laptop. Without so much as moving a nostril hair, he suddenly begins to compose a message — letter by letter — on a giant screen overhead.
A government-appointed investigation team has accused Zimbabwe’s main labour body — which is planning protests later this month — of flouting exchange-control regulations and other gross financial irregularities, the state-controlled Herald reported on Friday.
Emma Brockes delves into the dark side of legendary director, actor and writer Woody Allen.
Six people were killed when a young Kenyan ran amok with a Kalashnikov rifle, the Daily Nation newspaper reported on Friday. The 18-year-old shot wildly round him, killing five people, including three children. When an angry mob failed to catch him, they killed his brother in his place, beheading him with a machete.