Zambia’s railway authority on Wednesday said it is still waiting for confirmation of the number of people injured in a near-fatal passenger train accident on Tuesday. Several coaches on a train carrying about 500 people derailed and overturned in the town of Mazabuka, about 200km south of Lusaka during peak travelling time.
Vusi Pikoli, National Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said on Wednesday the purpose of last week’s raid on properties of former deputy president Jacob Zuma and his lawyers was not to embarrass or humiliate Zuma. He defended the heavily armed ”Hollywood-style” entrance to Zuma’s premises.
The South African Reserve Bank painted a rosy picture on Wednesday of the economy, but warned of threats to inflation. ”The performance of the South Africa economy in recent times seems to be more solid and consistent than before,” the central bank says in its annual economic report, released in Pretoria.
The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria said on Wednesday that it has frozen financing for Uganda after uncovering ”serious mismanagement” in the organisation overseeing its programmes there. The fund said the halt on its grants — which total -million — is temporary.
What is the right age to start driving a car? The deaths of four teenagers in a horrific high-speed crash on a suburban street has revived the debate in New Zealand where 15-year-olds can legally take the wheel. It is one of the lowest minimum driving ages in the world, introduced 80 years ago when licensing began to ensure that youngsters living on farms could drive to and from work.
Formula one’s debut visit to Turkey last weekend left those involved in the grand prix circus seeking a mix of new tracks and classic circuits on the calendars of the future. The recently created Istanbul Park circuit proved popular with drivers as well as teams, with many hailing it as the perfect mix of top racing track design and high-tech facilities.
Lingering questions about the death of Mexican boxer Martin Sanchez following a July 1 bout in Las Vegas have prompted the World Boxing Council to launch an investigation, the governing body’s president said on Tuesday. ”In the case of ‘Fireman’ Sanchez, there are things that should be investigated in greater depth,” WBC President Jose Sulaiman said.
Zimbabwean officials want custom duties to be paid for about 6 000 blankets given by South Africans to victims of the government’s recent mass demolitions campaign, an aid organisation said on Wednesday. Aid workers have been barred from distributing the blankets until the matter is resolved.
PetroSA, the state oil and gas company, will ”have nothing to do” with Imvume Management in future and it has been ordered to pay back monies owed to it, says PetroSA chairperson Popo Molefe. The former North West premier faced tough questions from opposition MPs in the standing committee on public accounts on Wednesday morning.
The Bush administration on Tuesday put forward a plan to make the United States’s burgeoning fleet of pickup trucks, minivans and some sports utility vehicles go further on a gallon of gas in response to the soaring cost of petrol. But the plan, which would not be implemented until 2008, was condemned by environmental groups because the largest SUVs would not be affected.