Over 4 900 Free State miners should be reinstated because the National Union of Mineworkers’ consultation process with Harmony Gold was not exhausted, the Labour Court heard on Tuesday. ”The dismissals were effected prematurely, the consultation was not properly exhausted and fair procedure was not followed,” said Hans van der Riet, lawyer for the NUM.
A teenage soccer player almost froze to death during a club match at Featherston, 70km north of the capital Wellington on Sunday, a newspaper reported. Azim Sheikh (19) suffered severe hypothermia and had stopped breathing when he reached hospital after the match between Wairarapa United and Featherston.
Current Springbok and Gwent Dragons fullback Percy Montgomery has signed a two-year contract to play for the Sharks. Montgomery will officially join the Sharks on June 1. However, provided he is selected to play for the Springboks, he will only start with the team after the Tri-Nations in August.
The Pretoria High Court on Tuesday heard how a self-confessed male prostitute killed a client because he desperately needed money. In a statement before court, 25-year-old David Swanepoel admitted to throttling Allen Sim and stabbing him with a knife. Sim’s body thrown into a bath after the killing.
Côte d’Ivoire’s President Laurent Gbagbo announced late on Tuesday he has agreed to allow opposition leader Alassane Ouattara to stand in a presidential election in October, removing a key hurdle to ending years of strife in the West African nation.
Ace Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday reacted strongly to criticism that he had become a pale shadow of his former attacking self, saying his aim was to serve the team, not to please everybody. Tendulkar, the fourth-highest scorer with 10 134 runs in 123 Tests with 34 centuries, has recently been under fire for shedding much of his flamboyance, a hallmark of his batting.
Iraq’s political deadlock appeared to have been broken last night when the prime minister-designate, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, submitted a draft list of cabinet ministers to President Jalal Talabani. If approved, the list will clear the way for a government to be formed almost three months after landmark elections, restoring momentum to a political process mired in bickering between rival blocs.
In the old days there were standards in the Chicago underworld and honour among mobsters. While there might even have been outright war between capos and their crew, the city’s crime families could still count on one thing: the Code of Silence.
France’s United Nations ambassador said on Tuesday that more UN peacekeepers are needed to bolster the recent peace deal in Côte d’Ivoire. Jean-Marc de La Sabliere told the Security Council his country would introduce a draft resolution by the end of the week to extend the mandate and size of the UN mission.
Miss France 2004 risks being stripped of her title after revealing pictures of her were published in the May edition of Playboy, the contest’s organiser, Genevieve de Fontenay, said on Tuesday. De Fontenay said an extraordinary disciplinary committee meeting ”within the next few days” would decide on an appropriate response.