Identifying with the lead character in the Oscar-winning local film ‘Tsotsi’, former president Nelson Mandela proved a masterful storyteller.
The Indian Ocean nation of Madagascar on Thursday hailed the first-ever visit by United Nations chief Kofi Annan to the island on a farewell African tour before leaving his post later this year. ”It has always been a dream of mine to receive you here,” said President Marc Ravalomanana after receiving the UN leader.
Group of Eight (G8) countries were divided on Thursday on ways to ensure long-term world-energy security, as the European Union admitted its members had diverging views on ambitious plans for developing nuclear power being pushed by Russia and the United States. ”It is a very different approach from the members of the G8.”
The security industry is preparing for next week’s strike by guards, a company said on Thursday. Chubb Security South Africa, one of the country’s larger security companies, said it has a plan in place to ameliorate the impact of the upcoming industrial action. The strike is expected to start on Thursday and last an indefinite period.
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The state will use a one-week adjournment to mull over developments in axed deputy president Jacob Zuma’s rape trial and decide how to proceed. Outside the court, Zuma’s supporters huddled together on Thursday as this was explained to them through a megaphone.
Afghanistan, Myanmar and Malaysia confirmed outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu and took urgent protective measures on Thursday as the deadly virus continued its march across Asia. Meanwhile, a strain of the bird-flu virus has been found in a dead stray dog in Azerbaijan.
Sweden on Thursday urged President Robert Mugabe’s government to mend fences with the West as it joined a United Nations humanitarian drive to help Zimbabweans. The Swedish donation of -million followed a United Nations appeal last year for humanitarian assistance to millions of Zimbabweans reeling from poverty, food shortages and galloping inflation.
As the stormy trial of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein reaches its halfway point, the nature of the prosecution case is finally beginning to emerge, but grave concerns over the court’s procedure and impartiality remain. The court adjourned on Wednesday for three weeks while the three-judge panel reexamines the evidence and drafts specific charges against the eight co-defendants.
Confidence in South African business conditions remained high, but could be dented by electricity supply problems and the recent Transnet strike, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) said on Thursday. The most recent RMB/BER business-confidence index showed a reversal of the one-percentage point decline of the previous quarter.
Six men who became ill during a drug trial remained in serious condition in a London hospital on Thursday. Two of the men were listed in critical condition, Northwick Park Hospital said in a statement. Raste Khan — one of two men given a placebo in the trial — said the six had been stricken within a few minutes of receiving the drug.