United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday certain ”major powers” should play a bigger role in the world body, but declined to name favourites for any new permanent seats on the Security Council. ”I have always maintained that no reform to the UN will be complete without a reform of the Security Council.,” Annan said.
An apparently intoxicated Jackie Chan disrupted a concert by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee in Hong Kong and exchanged insults with the audience, a news report said on Tuesday. Ming Pao Daily News said Chan suddenly jumped on stage at the concert on Monday night and demanded a duet with Lee. He then tried to conduct the band but stopped and restarted the music several times.
South African maize futures ticked up further on Tuesday in line with Chicago and had scope for more gains given lingering concerns about this year’s harvest, traders said. The benchmark December white maize contract climbed R15 to R1 454 a tonne, bringing its gains so far this year to roughly 26%.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) cartel scolded consuming nations on Tuesday for forcing it to spend billions on spare crude production capacity while sending confusing policy signals on future demand. Opec has an estimated 100 exploration and production projects with investment in the region of -billion to meet rising demand.
Hundreds of fighters who were battling Somalia’s Islamic militia in the capital, Mogadishu, surrendered early on Tuesday after a surge of violence that has killed more than 70 people and wounded 150 since Sunday, officials said. The fighters, loyal to secular warlord Abdi Awale Qaybdiid, turned over their arms, top Islamic commanders said.
Seven tourists were killed and 35 people injured on Tuesday in a series of grenade attacks targeting holiday areas in the main city of revolt-hit Indian Kashmir, police said. In the bloodiest of the attacks blamed on Islamic separatist rebels, six tourists, including five women, were killed and 15 people wounded.
Pedro De la Rosa will replace Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya for the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team, it was announced on Tuesday. The Spaniard will compete for McLaren for the first time as a first-choice driver at this Sunday’s French Grand Prix, the team said.
Israel battered the Gaza Strip with fresh air strikes on Tuesday as troops stood poised to launch more incursions in a deadly offensive that has killed more than 50 Palestinians in a week. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert defended the operation, aimed at securing the release of an abducted teenage soldier and halting rocket attacks.
Consideration of legislation by South African members of Parliament to provide Fifa with a legislative platform to manage South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup in 2010 began at Parliament on Tuesday — with a discussion whether previous versions of the South African flag should be banned during the staging of matches.
Official records at the South African Department of Labour show that many unions and employer organisations are not "in good standing" in as far as registration procedures and legal requirements expected from bona fide organisations are concerned, the department said on Tuesday in a statement.