The SA Army has unveiled a vision for the next 15 years that will require major changes in the way it thinks and fights. The chief of the army, Lieutenant-General Solly Shoke, said in Pretoria on Tuesday that his Vision 2020 would determine the future direction of the army and also influence what equipment it would buy.
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The woman Jacob Zuma allegedly raped told the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday she had been raped on a previous occasion. She said this while giving evidence on the contents of an SMS sent to her sister after the alleged incident involving Zuma.
Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), has admitted it is almost impossible to get ahead of drug cheats, but says better tests are being developed to narrow the gap. Pound said Wada had been ”spectacularly succesful” since being set up in 1999, but still had a long way to go to drive drugs from sport.
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The Friends of Jacob Zuma trust fund has condemned the burning of his alleged rape victim’s picture by the ANC deputy president’s supporters outside the court on Tuesday. ”The rule of law must be upheld. There are those masquerading as Zuma supporters,” said chairperson Don Mkhwanazi.
Barely two weeks ago, one of the world’s most powerful men, a dedicated hunter and self-proclaimed outdoorsman, mistook a 78-year-old friend for a bird and shot him in the face. And recently, the South African government took at least one step back from the full implementation of legislation intended to allow only the most capable people to own and use firearms.
Two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure of Mali, one of Africa’s most famous performers, died Tuesday after a long illness, Mali’s Culture Ministry announced. He was 67. Toure played a traditional Malian stringed instrument called the gurkel, and was best-known overseas for his 1995 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on Talking Timbuktu.
Pakistan imposed a curfew on the battle-scarred tribal town of Miran Shah on Monday in an attempt to end three days of fighting between pro-Taliban militants and government troops. Thousands of civilians continued to flee the tribal area as helicopter gunships attacked suspected rebel hideouts and militants attacked army checkposts in neighbouring towns.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Tuesday called on Japan’s leaders to stop visiting a controversial Tokyo war shrine, comparing their actions to the worship of Germany’s Nazis after World War II. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has made five visits to the Yasukuni Shrine since taking office in 2001.
The JSE was sharply lower in noon trade on Tuesday, knocked by weakness in commodity prices and global markets. A softer rand did little to help the local bourse. By 11.49am, the all-share index slipped 1,6%. Resources slumped 2,9%, with the gold and platinum mining indices plunging 3,65% and 4,46% respectively.
Thousands of angry Kenyans, including prominent opposition politicians, paraded through the country’s main cities on Tuesday protesting a heavy-handed police raid on the second largest media group. ”We are demonstrating in order to protect press freedom in Kenya. Press freedom in Kenya is under siege,” said former roads minister Raila Odinga.