Iraqi leaders tried on Wednesday to persuade furious Sunni Arabs to sign up to the draft Constitution, a day before the charter goes to Parliament where conservative Shi’ites and secularist Kurds can ensure its victory. Some Sunni negotiators have even called the country’s post-Saddam Hussein Constitution it ”illegal”.
Denel will have to make tough calls if it is to survive, its new chief executive, Shaun Liebenberg, said on Tuesday. Addressing the media in Pretoria on the company’s future plans, he said nothing is sacred and even pet projects such as the Rooivalk attack helicopter will need to perform or be canned.
At least 73 people have been killed, 45 wounded and tens of thousands displaced in clashes so far this year between Ethiopia’s rival Oromo and Somali ethnic groups, according to a local human rights watchdog. In the deadliest single incident in March, 14 people were killed, 10 wounded and 1 600 forced from their homes when a group of rustlers attacked a cattle herder.
Sudan’s new southern leader Salva Kiir issued a stark warning to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), urging the Ugandan rebels to reach a rapid peace deal with Kampala or leave Sudan at once. ”The LRA have to reach a settlement to their problem with the Ugandan government, if not, they have to leave the south, otherwise we are going to find other solutions,” he said.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived on Tuesday in Niger to ”see for myself” the impact of a devastating famine in the largely desert West African country after the United Nations was accused of bungling aid action. He said he would discuss with Prime Minister Hama Amadou measures to deal with the massive crisis gripping one of the world’s poorest nations.
Fraud and corruption convict Schabir Shaik and his wife, Zuleikha, were forced to evacuate their beachfront flat in Durban early on Wednesday due to a fire, emergency services personnel said. The fire started at about 2.10am in the Yarningdale block of flats on the Marine Parade.
Construction will start in October on the main feature of Pretoria’s Freedom Park, project manager Hendrik Prinsloo said on Wednesday. The structure will include indoor exhibition and discussion areas, a memorial for ”the unknown soldier” and interactive touch screens providing information.
Britain was due on Wednesday to unveil a list of ”unacceptable behaviour” aimed at forcing the deportation of Islamic radicals in the wake of last month’s deadly London bombings. The measures come as a newspaper reported the bombs used in the July 7 London attacks were manually activated by button-like devices.
”Goodbye Chicco,” was the message from Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday after negotiations were completed for star Côte d’Ivoire international midfielder Siaka ”Chicco” Tiene to join French Premier Division club St Ettiene. Tiene was one of the most impressive performers of the 2004/05 Premier Soccer League season.
Americans are sceptical about a L’Equipe report that 1999 urine samples of seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong have tested positive for erythropoeitin and are critical of the French newspaper’s story. ”Armstrong’s lie” blared the newspaper’s front-page headline.