Swiss justice authorities said on Thursday that they had thwarted a plot by a group of North Africans to attack a plane of the Israeli airline El Al, and had made seven arrests in the process. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said that the individuals had been seized in sweeps, which began on May 12 in Zurich and Basel, following an investigation.
Five South Koreans taken hostage by Nigerian militants were freed on Thursday, said the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), which had been holding them. "In fulfilment of our earlier pledge, all five Korean prisoners captured by our unit in the attack on the Daewoo camp were released at 4pm [local time] today, Thursday June 8 2006," Mend said.
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon earned a backhanded compliment from President Thabo Mbeki in the National Assembly on Thursday. Responding to debate on the Presidency Budget vote, Mbeki said he appreciated the way Leon had expressed himself on Wednesday during that debate.
Iran said on Thursday it is open to nuclear talks with the West but that technology was not up for discussion, amid rising hopes for a breakthrough in the stand-off over its controversial nuclear aims. "We will negotiate about common concerns and for clearing up misunderstandings in the international atmosphere," said hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis is to sign an accord with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul establishing a crisis management hotline between the two countries’ air forces, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. ”The agreement has been elaborated, now it is a matter of signing it,” Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson George Koumoutsakos said.
After a 10-year absence, Namibia has witnessed a sudden reappearance of polio, with 34 suspected cases and seven deaths recorded so far. The recent outbreak has been confirmed in five of the country’s 13 regions, but most cases have occurred in and around the capital, Windhoek.
A new report on seven South African land-reform successes, released this week, says land reform can be successful, but it requires careful planning, post-transfer assistance, debt relief and an interest holiday. Most of all, it requires good old elbow grease from the communities involved. Communities also cannot depend on the government too heavily.
Trade union Solidarity on Thursday said it has declared a dispute with the National Petroleum Employers’ Association (NPEA). The Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union and the South African Chemical Workers’ Union have also declared a dispute with the NPEA, Solidarity said.
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France’s World Cup hopes have suffered a cruel blow after striker Djibril Cisse broke his leg in their last warm-up game before leaving for Germany. The Liverpool forward was forced out of Raymond Domenech’s squad after undergoing surgery late on Wednesday on a fractured right fibula and shinbone, picked up in the friendly against China.
It was an impressive double whammy for Iraq’s new prime minister: first announcing the death of the country’s most notorious terrorist, then getting approval for his government’s final, key posts. With that rapid fire of good news on Thursday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki grabbed strong control of his country — and the United States seemed overjoyed he did.