A group of 14 centrist senators from the Republican and Democratic parties on Monday night struck an 11th-hour deal aimed at averting a political crisis over President George Bush’s judicial nominations. Under the deal, some of the judges selected by the White House for high federal positions will go before the full Senate for a straight vote.
The South African rand, which on Tuesday broke above R6,70 per dollar for the first time since early September, could easily be back above the R7-per-dollar level in coming weeks, analysts say. Market analyst George Glynos said Tuesday’s move in the rand was almost entirely euro-driven.
The shootout at Groote Schuur hospital during an attempted jail break that left one warder dead and another injured was a ”serious blunder”, Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour said in Parliament on Tuesday. ”There were security breaches; there is no doubt about it,” Balfour told the correctional services portfolio committee.
Reporters started gathering at the Durban High Court on Tuesday morning as security was being beefed up ahead of the judgement in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial. Judgement is expected to continue until Wednesday afternoon.
Former president Nelson Mandela has won the first part of his legal battle with his ex-lawyer and a publisher over the sale of his artworks. The Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday ordered lawyer Ismail Ayob, publisher Ross Calder and various other companies to stop selling the artworks.
Sudanese authorities have charged one member of Médécins sans Frontières with spreading false information and detained a second after their agency spoke out about alleged rape cases in Darfur.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) begins its 15th annual Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday with leaders from some of Africa’s top companies and multinationals calling for the strong voice of business to be heard in the flow of targeted aid and investment on the continent.
French President Jacques Chirac appointed Dominique de Villepin, a loyalist who was France’s voice against the Iraq war, as Prime Minister on Tuesday to head a new government in response to a humiliating referendum defeat. Villepin (51) moves from the interior ministry to replace Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
One of Britain’s least-known yet most dangerous sporting events took place on Monday with a lower-than-usual toll of injuries. Only three people broke bones during the annual cheese-rolling race at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire, central England, where competitors pelt recklessly down a steep slope in pursuit of a large, round cheese.
An adolescent running away after a furious row with his father is nothing unusual. Unfortunately, if you’re a four-year-old colobus monkey, you can’t just telephone for a lift home later once tempers have cooled. The rare black-and-white colobus male is still on the loose after escaping from his enclosure, reports said on Tuesday.