Africa expressed grief and shock on Thursday after a string of explosions in London killed at least 37 people, amid concerns that ending African poverty will take a back seat to security issues at the Group of Eight summit in Scotland. ”The world and all progressive humanity are with you,” said President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria.
Ethiopia’s main opposition party, the Coalition for National Unity (CUD), has pulled out of a joint team investigating alleged fraud in disputed parliamentary elections, officials said on Friday. The CUD complained of threats against its members in various parts of the country following post-election violence in which at least 37 people died last month.
Former southern rebel leader John Garang was due to arrive in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Friday on his first visit to the city in more than 22 years following a January peace accord with the Sudanese government. Garang will be sworn in as Sudan’s first vice-president and president of a semi-autonomous southern region.
Thousands of glass workers went on a nationwide strike on Friday after the failure of wage negotiations with their employers. A spokesperson for the General Industries Workers’ Union of South Africa said between 6 000 and 7 000 glass workers went on strike from 6am.
More than 50 people died in Thursday’s four terrorist bombings in London, the city’s police chief said on Friday. Meanwhile, Iraqis who face suicide bombings on a daily basis on Friday condemned the London attacks, but many also blamed US and British policies for the rise in extremism worldwide.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) rallied to a new high on Friday morning, boosted by futures-related buying. A softer rand further helped the local bourse. By 11.57am, the all-share index added 0,94% to 14 435,98, having touched a lifetime high of 14 438,06 a few minutes earlier.
Two South Africans were among the 700 people injured in Thursday’s bomb blasts in London, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. More than 50 people were killed in the attacks, London police said on Friday.
Italian Lorenzo Bernucci of the Fassa Bortolo team won the dramatic sixth stage of the Tour de France held over 199km between Troyes and Nancy, which almost ended in carnage in Nancy on Thursday. American Lance Armstrong retained the race leader’s yellow jersey, which he is bidding to win for a seventh consecutive time.
Thursday’s deadly bomb attacks in London won’t affect the city’s determination to stage a successful Olympics, the head of the British Olympic Association said on Friday. The blasts came hours after London won the right to host the Games, which prompted an outpouring of euphoria, quickly dampened by the tragic news.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted on Friday to drop baseball and softball from the 2012 Olympics in London. Meeting in Singapore, the 127th plenary assembly voted in secret on all 28 existing sports, with baseball and softball failing to receive the majority required to stay on the programme.