While political pressure is building on United States President George Bush to do more to stop what he calls ”genocide” in Darfur, recent events suggest that the National Islamic Front government of Sudan is not particularly concerned. One sign of the regime’s confidence was its decision to block the scheduled visit this week to Darfur by the United Nation’s chief aid official, Jan Egeland.
A Canadian teenager accused of killing a United States soldier in Afghanistan said on Wednesday he would boycott his ”war on terror” trial before a US military tribunal after he was placed in solitary confinement at the Guantánamo detention camp.
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Congolese represent the largest slice of the almost 200Â 000 applications for asylum in South Africa since 1994, with Burundians and Rwandese also prominent. Unlike other African countries, South Africa offers neither accommodation in refugee camps nor assistance to recognised refugees or new arrivals seeking asylum.
Turning lemons into tourist lemonade, the Chamber of Commerce in the mining city of Butte, Montana, is charging admission to see one of the United States’s largest bodies of toxic water. And people are paying. "Some people see contaminated water," said chamber executive Marko Lucich. "I see wealth."
An Austrian advisory panel handling claims for paintings, sculptures and other items looted by the Nazis during World War II has recommended that 6 292 artworks be returned to their original owners, the minister of culture said on Wednesday.
Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has been appointed to serve on the World Bank’s new Commission on Growth and Development, his ministry said on Wednesday. ”This Commission will highlight fundamental aspects of economic growth for the attainment of development objectives and identify forward-looking growth policies.”
Magisterial districts are being reviewed to ensure they can be aligned with municipal boundaries where possible, Minister of Justice Brigitte Mabandla said on Wednesday. Her department had already finalised a process of investigating current magisterial district boundaries through consultative meetings.
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When Jacob Zuma apologised to the mother of the woman who has accused him of rape, it was only for the effect that her laying the charge was having on her mother, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Wednesday. ”I was only apologising for the effect that impacted on her,” said Zuma.
Electricity utility Eskom is to launch a major energy conservation campaign next month in an effort to reduce consumption and relieve the current strain on power transmission and distribution facilities, the government announced on Wednesday. The campaign will be ”more intense” in the Western Cape, government communications spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe said.