Saddam Hussein’s half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, on Wednesday denied involvement in mass reprisals ordered against a village after the ousted Iraqi leader escaped assassination there in 1982. ”I arrested no one, it was the security services that were in charge” of operations in Dujail, Barzan said as the trial of Saddam and seven co-accused resumed before the Iraqi high tribunal.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday reported massive bird deaths in two regions in Eritrea, two weeks after it warned that the Horn of African nation was at risk of bird flu infection. WHO representative Andrew Kosia said that wild fowl had died in the coastal area of the Red Sea region and several chickens had died in the western region of Gash Barka.
Slobodan Milosevic will be buried in Belgrade, his lawyer announced on Tuesday night, ending days of speculation about what would happen to the remains of the former Serbian president. The dictator’s body will be flown from Amsterdam airport to the Serbian capital at about lunchtime on Wednesday, allowing what supporters called a ”dignified” funeral to take place.
Most Indian Ocean coral reefs which were hit by the December 2004 tsunami escaped serious damage, but their full recovery could be hampered by humans, the World Conservation Union warned on Wednesday. Most of the ocean’s tsunami-affected coral reefs could recover within five to ten years.
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A police commissioner who questioned former deputy president Jacob Zuma after he allegedly raped a woman was accused of lying in the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday. Zuma’s lawyer Kemp J Kemp said it was ”highly improbable” that Commissioner Norman Taioe forgot to put in his statement that Zuma had shown him the guest bedroom at his house.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) was firmer in noon trade on Wednesday, buoyed by futures-related buying ahead of Thursday’s closeout. By 11.49am, the all-share index added 0,73%. Resources rallied 1,23%, with the gold- and platinum-mining indices jumping 1,96% and 2,49% respectively.
American writer Dan Brown returned to the witness stand on Wednesday for a third day of questioning about the writing of his best-selling thriller The Da Vinci code. Brown has already been quizzed about everything from his wife’s handwriting to the word-processing program he uses.
Henkel, the German maker of Persil washing powder, said on Wednesday it was selling a stake in its South African unit to a group of black investors as part of a campaign to involve black South Africans ”more fully in their country’s economic activity”.
The United Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has urged the Botswana government to reopen negotiations with the San community, who are contesting their relocation from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). After meeting last week, the Geneva-based committee said it was oncerned.
In summer, in the mountains of southern France, storytellers accompany visitors on night-time walks, enthralling them with enchanting tales in magical surroundings. Storytelling is an age-old tradition in France with hundreds of professional storytellers, and thousands of amateurs, still captivating audiences around the country.