President Thabo Mbeki has promised support for church relief efforts for people displaced under Zimbabwe’s so-called urban clean-up campaign. He made the undertaking during a meeting with representatives of the South African Council of Churches in Pretoria on Friday afternoon, church leaders said.
A fact-finding mission by South African clergy on Zimbabwe’s demolitions campaign was ”sponsored by Britain and part of a plot to unseat President Robert Mugabe’s government”, The Herald said on Friday. Meanwhile, Mugabe’s former spin doctor Jonathan Moyo is working on a book about his time in the government.
Kenya has launched a massive security operation in the northern region, where a massacre and reprisal attacks have left at least 77 people dead this week, officials said on Friday, as the Red Cross appealed for humanitarian aid for displaced people.
Senegal’s former prime minister was on Friday being questioned by police over claims he overspent hundreds of millions of rands on a road project in his stronghold of Thies. Idrissa Seck’s supporters clashed with police in the streets around his home and police headquarters in the capital, Dakar.
Just seven out of 162 train passengers hospitalised after two trains collided in Soweto on Wednesday night are waiting to be discharged, Metrorail said on Friday. ”We are encouraged by the improvement in the condition of the injured train passengers,” spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said.
The Springbok rugby team joined former president Nelson Mandela to see off the 46664 vehicle.
Uncertainty over the position of Western Cape public works minister Mcebisi Skwatsha continued on Friday, the day he was supposed to — according to his premier — quit the post. Provincial African National Congress chairperson James Ngculu said on Friday that as far as he is aware, Skwatsha is still a provincial minister.
An Egyptian man was arrested overnight in Cairo on suspicion of involvement in the July 7 London terror attacks, Egyptian security sources said on Friday. British police said on Friday they were ”aware” of an arrest in Egypt in connection with the investigation into last week’s bombings.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa was re-elected as leader of his ruling party, results showed on Friday, winning the lion’s share of votes at a stormy party convention that set the stage for next year’s elections. Mwanawasa (58) beat his only rival, former vice-president Enock Kavindele, by a wide margin.
South African banking group FirstRand put an end to speculation late on Friday, saying it is not in talks with United States-based Citigroup. Rumours earlier this week that FirstRand could be a possible takeover target by the US bank — the world’s largest — saw a surge in the local bank’s shares.