Rival factions in Somalia on Monday battled for control of the southwestern city of Baidoa, where President Abdullahi Yusuf plans to establish a temporary capital. The heavy fighting, which involved truck-mounted anti-aircraft missiles, mortars and heavy machine guns, is blamed for the deaths of 19 people and injuries to 28.
The chief of police in Basra admitted on Monday that he had effectively lost control of three-quarters of his officers and that sectarian militias had infiltrated the force and were using their posts to assassinate opponents. General Hassan al-Sade said half of his 13 750-strong force was secretly working for political parties in Iraq’s second city and that some officers were involved in ambushes.
At 1pm every Sunday, Mrs Shen goes hunting for a husband. Equipped with photos, a resume and oodles of charm and enthusiasm, the 50-something spends the entire afternoon looking for Mr Right among the cypress and ginkgo trees of Sun Yat-sen Park in Beijing.
Creating more business opportunities to counter rising unemployment is expected to take centre stage at an upcoming jobs summit in Swaziland. The summit, scheduled to take place in July, follows a pledge by King Mswati III to initiate a R1-billion public-private fund to bankroll the development of small- and medium-scale enterprises.
With little time left before the end of the school year and exams, 1Â 600 Togolese refugee children went back to school on Monday in camps set up in Benin for refugees who have fled Togo’s post-election unrest. Children of all ages, flopped down on mats laid out on floors of makeshift classrooms provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund at the Lokossa refugee camp.
Former president Nelson Mandela’s ex-lawyer and an art publisher were ordered on Tuesday to stop selling art work purportedly by the elder statesman. The interdict against lawyer Ismail Ayob and art publisher Ross Calder was granted to Mandela by the Johannesburg High Court.
From next year, world leaders visiting South Africa will undergo a similar ritual to Hollywood film stars leaving behind a concrete imprint of their palms to ensure they are remembered. They will leave behind a symbolic footprint at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, currently receiving a major makeover.
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The Democratic Alliance has accused minerals and energy committee chairperson Nathi Mthethwa of assisting the government to hide alleged irregularities concerning a donation to the ruling party. This follows a court decision to interdict the Mail & Guardian from running a follow-up to its ”Oilgate” report last week.
Police in Zimbabwe continued demolishing thousands of shacks and vendors’ kiosks in opposition strongholds on Monday, burning a 10km-long line of curio stalls near Victoria Falls. A spokesperson for the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change called the crackdown a ”tyranny” and urged people to resist.