Free State police have launched a manhunt for a gang who robbed a chartered aircraft at the Bloemfontein airport of an undisclosed amount of money early on Thursday. Police spokesperson Captain Elsa Gerber said a group of between eight and ten men stopped their Ford bakkie in front of the Baron Beachcraft twin prop plane at around 7.45am, preventing the pilot from taking off.
Declining oil reserves and soaring prices could see desperate nations overturning a ban on drilling in the last untouched frontier — Antarctica, an oil expert told a scientific conference on Thursday. Pressure to exploit the pristine, icy continent could become irresistible, said Ali Bakhtiari, a former senior adviser for the National Iranian Oil Company.
Saddam Hussein and three of his co-defendants have been on hunger strike for five days in protest at court procedures and the killing of their defence lawyers, the United States military said on Wednesday. A spokesperson, who declined to identify the other three, said all four had refused meals since Friday evening but were in good health. Saddam’s lawyer said the protest had lasted for seven days and he was concerned about the former president’s health.
A white Zimbabwean security expert who has been in police cells since March for allegedly plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe’s government has been denied bail for a third time, reports said on Thursday. Michael Hitschmann was arrested after detectives found what they said was a cache of arms at his house in the eastern city of Mutare.
Twin explosions hit oil installations belonging to Italian oil company Agip in Nigeria’s volatile south-eastern delta region, officials said on Thursday. Officials suspected sabotage in the explosions on Wednesday along two pipelines in Baleysa state.
South African power utility Eskom announced a pre-tax profit of R6,8-billion for the financial year ending on March 31 2006 from R7,6-billion for the 15-month period ended March 31 2005. Chief executive Thulani Gcabashe said 2006 had been characterised by a significant number of challenges, particularly in the generation and transmission of electricity in the Cape.
The JSE was weaker in noon trade on Thursday, unable to escape the red tide that was sweeping world markets. Steep losses were seen in interest-rate-sensitive stocks — a weaker rand meant they were hit by a double whammy. "Obviously we are following world markets. Everything is in the red," a dealer said.
When a fellow Moroccan asked Mohamed to drive him from Bilbao, Spain to Barcelona, Mohamed was happy to oblige. Two months later Mohamed was awakened by a heavy knock at his door. Police hauled him to Madrid, where he was accused of being an Islamic terrorist and of owning weapons.
For 24 hours Israel has bombed Lebanon in a staggering show of force unseen across the border for at least 10 years, evoking memories of the long and bloody occupation of its northern neighbour. ”War,” screamed the front-page headline in Israel’s best-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper. ”Declaration of War” shrieked its rival, Maariv.
Serial blasts that killed 200 people in Mumbai will "test the resilience" of the peace process between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan but are unlikely to derail it, analysts said on Thursday. New Delhi has not attributed the attack to Pakistan-based Islamic militants, but Indian police say Tuesday’s rush-hour bombings that also wounded nearly 800 people bore the hallmark of one such group.