Montenegro’s independence could open a Pandora’s box for other separatist movements in Europe and the former Soviet Union, with some already claiming the right to follow the same path. Separatists in Spain’s Basque and Catalan regions were among the first to welcome Montenegro’s independence vote as a positive omen.
Fresh insurgent attacks across Afghanistan have claimed nearly 20 more lives, including three police officers and 12 Taliban fighters, officials said on Tuesday. About 300 people have already died in recent days in some of the heaviest fighting since the radical Islamic Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001.
Another man thrown out of a moving train in Johannesburg has died, bringing the number of deaths within the past 24 hours to two, police said on Tuesday. About 20 people have been thrown from moving trains in Gauteng in the past few months — many of them working security guards believed to be targeted by their striking colleagues.
A dissident Iranian journalist, Akbar Ganji, and a lawyer and broadcaster in Zimbabwe, Arnold Tsunga, will share a leading international human rights award this year. The award is presented every year by 11 of the world’s major human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The Turkish army confirmed on Tuesday that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet and a Greek F-16 fighter jet had collided over the eastern Aegean Sea after what it said was an attempt by Greek warplanes to intercept Turkish jets. The Turkish pilot ejected and survived the crash, a statement by the general staff said.
Johannesburg metropolitan police officers will stop at nothing to have their grievances heard by city manager Mavela Dlamini, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union said on Tuesday. Metro police officers marched from Beyers Naude Square to the metro centre on Tuesday, causing some of the inner-city streets to be closed to traffic.
Egypt’s interior ministry said on Tuesday the Egyptian group which carried out three simultaneous suicide bombings in the Sinai last month received support from Palestinian militants in Gaza and Egypt. Several members of the Tawhid wal Jihad group blamed for the bombings went to the Gaza Strip for training, it said in a statement.
Johannesburg International airport is to spend R3,4-billion upgrading facilities and security over the next four years. The upgrades include readying the airport to handle the giant Airbus A380, accommodating the Gautrain and building a 25km concrete perimeter wall. The wall will cost about R25,5-million.
Israel’s supreme court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Palestinians living on the outskirts of East Jerusalem against the construction of a new section of its West Bank barrier. Residents of al-Azaria, a Jerusalem suburb which is technically in the West Bank, had filed a petition against building work on the barrier.
Cellphone service providers who fail to keep information on their clients could be fined R100 000 for each day of non-compliance, according to draft interception legislation introduced in Parliament. In turn, customers who sold their cellphones could be imprisoned for up to 12 months for failing to relay the recipient’s personal information to a service provider.