Most of the world is on target to reduce the impact of tuberculosis (TB), but efforts have yet to bear fruit in Africa where the disease goes hand in hand with Aids, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday. In its annual report on the global impact of TB, the WHO said the disease claimed 1,7-million lives in 2004.
The European Union approved on Wednesday a blacklist of nearly 100 airlines considered to be unsafe, nearly all of which will be banned from EU skies, officials said. Most of the carriers are based in Africa and there are blanket bans on airlines from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and Swaziland.
The armed Basque separatist organisation ETA announced on Wednesday it is declaring a permanent ceasefire, a condition set by Spain’s government for the opening of talks with the group. Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the government hopes the ceasefire means the ”beginning of the end” of violence.
Thirteen security guard unions will embark on a two-day strike in six provinces on Thursday and Friday, in support of higher wages and better working conditions — including the right to lunch breaks and using a toilet without being charged for deserting a position of duty.
The top United Nations humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, on Wednesday urged Sudan’s government to accept the intervention of UN peacekeepers to tackle worsening strife in the western region of Darfur. ”The UN should be able to take over security in Darfur simply because the world is not able to equip the African Union (AU) force as it should.”
Andrew Flintoff and Shaun Udal made a mockery of India’s famed batting line-up as a depleted England squared the series with a crushing 212-run victory in the third and final Test in Mumbai on Wednesday. It was England’s first Test win in India since 1985. India were shot out for a pathetic 100 off just 48.2 overs in their second innings.
Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it had developed a new data storage medium for mobile computers that enables users to process data much faster. The 32-gigabyte flash-based solid state disk can upload and download data quickly and quietly as it uses instantly-accessible static flash memory instead of the rotating discs found in hard drives.
The first woman ever to contest elections in the conservative Persian Gulf state of Kuwait has launched her campaign by breaking a 44-year-old taboo in bringing male and female voters together. Hundreds of men and women attended the landmark event late on Tuesday which was held according to Kuwaiti tradition.
Cricket South Africa is to call on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to implement tough preventative and remedial measures to combat racial abuse from spectators, including life-time bans. This follows the report by India’s solicitor general, Goolam Vahanvati, following a complaint by Cricket South Africa.
Plans to build a multibillion-rand South African offshore oil and gas equipment fabrication yard at Saldanha and a service and refurbishment hub at Cape Town harbour were announced on Wednesday by MAN Ferrostaal. The capital expenditure would provide for quayside refurbishment and the erection of specialist workshops, fabrication facilities and associated infrastructure.