Demonstrations in solidarity with two Egyptian judges facing disciplinary hearings on Thursday morning were forcefully put down and dispersed in downtown Cairo. At least ten thousand security force members prevented 2 000 activists from the Muslim Brotherhood and the left-leaning opposition umbrella movement, Kifaya/Enough, from demonstrating, said security sources.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has signed into law the Education Act Amendment Bill giving the state powers to fix fees at private schools, in a development education experts say could see standards falling at the schools that are the only sources of a reliable education for young Zimbabweans.
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The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) has reiterated that it wants Jacob Zuma to be the next president of South Africa. The league was briefing reporters following the High Court trial during which Zuma was acquitted on a rape charge.
The Gauteng Rapid Rail team on Thursday unveiled a complex plan of street closures, demolitions and expropriations — set to begin mid-May — for the construction of the new Gautrain link between Johannesburg and Pretoria. Digging will start "within weeks" for the first preparations, said project leader Jack van der Merwe.
Afghanistan’s Taliban militia has released a DVD purporting to show suicide bombers shortly before they carry out attacks and calling for more strikes on United States and British coalition troops. The film is called Convoy of Martyrdom Seekers and is sold at markets in restive north-west Pakistan and on the other side of the border in eastern Afghanistan.
The price of petrol is set to go up by about 20 cents per litre (c/l) next month, taking the price to new record levels, according to Econometrix senior economist Tony Twine. This would mean that the total increase in the price of petrol for May and June is likely to be in the order of around 59 cents a litre.
The Nasdaq Stock Market said on Wednesday it had increased its stake in the London Stock Exchange to 22,7%. The United States operator said in a statement released here that it had paid £128,4-million (,2-million) for an additional 10,3-million shares in the LSE, Europe’s biggest stock exchange.
Faced with opposition from conservative groups and some pornography websites, the internet’s key oversight agency voted to reject a proposal to create a red-light district on the internet. The decision on Wednesday from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers reverses its preliminary approval last June to create a ”.xxx” domain name for voluntary use by the adult entertainment industry.
All-rounder Dwayne Bravo and compatriot Dave Mohammed wrecked Zimbabwe’s batting to leave West Indies with a modest victory target of 153 in the fifth One-day International on Wednesday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground. Bravo captured three wickets for 24 runs from 9,2 overs and Mohammed collected three for 37 from 10 overs on his ODI debut.
Resources again dominated activity on the JSE on Thursday morning, with buoyant commodity prices taking the all-share index to another record high in early trade. Weakness in the rand also assisted the bourse. At 11.55am, the all-share index was up 1% at 22 243,61 after earlier trading at an all-time high of 22 325,57.