A string of car bombings in quick succession killed at least 17 people in a Shi’ite district of Baghdad, as two top United States officials insisted the insurgency was under pressure. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on Thursday opened a high-profile visit to Washington aimed at soothing US worries about the war.
Sri Lanka’s government signed a deal on Friday to share international tsunami aid with the Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said, despite bitter protests by critics who say it threatens the country’s sovereignty. The plan was promoted as an opportunity for the government to forge peace with the guerrillas as the country recovers from the December 26 tsunami.
Authorities described this week’s raids on San Francisco pot clubs as one of the largest drug crackdowns in the area in recent memory, and said the arrests were the first step in uncovering a major international drug operation. United States Attorney Kevin V Ryan said agents raided three pot clubs that operated as fronts for marijuana and Ecstasy trafficking.
President Robert Mugabe has congratulated police for a so-called urban renewal campaign that has left up to 1,5-million people homeless and sparked outrage around the world.
The success of land reform in Malawi will depend on the cooperation of traditional leaders who remain sceptical of the process because they believe the new legislation will erode their authority, said civil society leader William Chadza. Chiefs in Malawi have traditionally had the authority to allocate land to their subjects.
New deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was sworn into office at Parliament on Thursday along with the new minister of minerals and energy and two deputy trade and industry ministers. Mlambo-Ngcuka said she was still ”clearly in shock” but very grateful for President Thabo Mbeki’s vote of confidence in her.
The Quinton Fortune saga is about to take another fascinating turn: Newcastle’s grumpy Graeme Souness is reported to be after the 27-year-old and is prepared to pay £2-million for Manchester United’s South African midfielder. There’s also talk of a swap deal involving Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given.
South African gold mining group DRDGold confirmed on Friday that a class action lawsuit had been filed in the United States against the company, its chief executive and chief financial officer. The lawsuit alleges that the company made certain false and misleading statements between October 23 2003 and February 24 2005.
The Independent Democrat’s former Western Cape leader Lennit Max and his lawyer walked out of his disciplinary hearing in Cape Town on Friday. The walk-out came after independent presiding officer Sarah Christie refused to adjourn proceedings for Max to bring a high court application for a Christie’s recusal.
A domestic worker was threatened with a snake while five masked robbers ransacked her employer’s house in Honeydew, north of Johannesburg on Thursday, police said. Inspector Yolande Bouwer said on Friday R90 000 worth of household goods including a TV set, a hi-fi, DVD player, jewellery and clothes were stolen.