Amid chaotic scenes in a Cairo court, the main opposition candidate in Egypt’s forthcoming presidential election went on trial on Tuesday accused of forgery. Ayman Nour, leader of the al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party, has faced constant harassment since declaring his intention to run for the presidency and says the charges are trumped up.
An Israeli soldier who refused to demolish buildings in the Gaza Strip was jailed on Tuesday for 56 days for refusing to obey orders. Corporal Avi Bieber (19) started shouting at officers when he was involved in the demolition of several uninhabited structures in Gush Katif on Sunday.
Year-on-year consumer inflation less mortgage costs (CPIX) for metropolitan and other urban areas was 3,9% in May — up from 3,8% in April, Statistics SA said on Wednesday. The headline or official inflation rate, CPI (consumer price index), for metropolitan areas came in at 3,3% in May, down from April’s 3,4%, Stats SA said.
The Norwegian who became a hacker hero for developing software to crack DVD encryption has posted a program to break the lock on Google’s brand-new video viewer. Jon Lech Johansen’s latest program was posted on his ”So sue me” website on Tuesday. That was just one day after Google launched free software allowing users to watch videos.
Production of cannabis, the most commonly used street drug in the world, has jumped by around 25% in one year, the United Nations said in a report Wednesday. An estimated 161-million people used cannabis in 2003, equivalent to four percent of the global population between the ages of 15 and 64.
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin’s protection service has demanded that Moscow authorities remove the advertising banners that hang across road routes in the centre of the city, complaining that they ”complicate” the task of protecting the president, Izvestiya newspaper said on Wednesday.
Trade union the United Association of South Africa (UASA) has rejected a wage offer made by the Chamber of Mines, the organisation said on Wednesday. The 2,5% across the board salary adjustment was seen as ”totally inadequate”. The selective adjustment to living out allowance and the additional one percent contribution by employers towards risk benefit was seen as discriminatory.
Weighing in at 6,24kg, Delaney Jessica Buzzell isn’t your average newborn. Her parents have even dubbed her the ”Big Enchilada.” The baby headed home on Tuesday after being delivered by Caesarean section on June 23 — a surprising three weeks early.
New research by the Britain’s Medical Research Council has shown that routinely immunising infants against the haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB) bacteria has virtually eliminated HIB in Gambia. HIB is the bacteria that causes pneumonia and meningitis.
The refusal of Zimbabwe’s neighbours to condemn the ”outrages” taking place in the country has limited Britain’s ability to take action, Jack Straw admitted on Tuesday. ”The fundamental difficulty about doing more rests with the approach of African leaders, that is true,” the foreign secretary said.