Twenty-six people were missing and feared dead on Thursday after a plane crashed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an aviation official said. The plane went missing shortly after takeoff on Wednesday and was found by United Nations helicopters on Wednesday night in the dense forests near Walungu.
A no vote in France’s referendum on the European Constitution on Sunday would be a catastrophe for the entire world, European Union President Jean-Claude Juncker warned on Wednesday. Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg, said a French no could have a major impact on foreign investment in the union.
Women factory workers were shocked when a man in a full Darth Vader costume paraded menacingly in front of them and then flashed his genitals, Malaysian media reported on Thursday. The women were waiting for their bus after work when the man got out of his car and strutted in front of them in his Darth Vader costume.
The 2006 World Cup football finals in Germany will be surrounded by draconian security measures, but organisers are determined not to spoil the occasion for the fans, German Interior Minister Otto Schily said on Wednesday. ”We have a gigantic task to fulfil,” Schily told a meeting of Germany’s 16 regional interior ministers.
Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet set up a dream French Open third-round showdown as teenage talent threatened to sweep the old guard out of Roland Garros on Wednesday. Top seed Roger Federer, bidding to win the only grand slam to have eluded him, moved ominously into the third round.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was looking strong in late morning trade on Thursday, led by resources heavyweights Anglo American and BHP Billiton, which were both up in London. Volumes were relatively light and dealers said that the JSE was merely following European markets.
Zambian striker Collins Mbesuma was named South African Footballer of the Year at an end-of-season awards ceremony on Wednesday. Another striker, Sandile Ndlovu, topped the Players’ Player of the Year poll and former national team striker Pitso Mosimane of Supersport United won the Coach of the Year category.
Old Mutual, South Africa’s largest financial-services group, made good progress in the area of black economic empowerment (BEE) last year, it has emerged from the company’s <i>2004 Old Mutual Corporate Citizenship Report</i>, released on Thursday. During 2004, Old Mutual facilitated empowerment deals worth R500-million.
The Canterbury Crusaders plan to avoid being beaten finalists in the Super 12 for a third straight year on Saturday by remaining focused on playing their own style of rugby against the New South Wales Waratahs, second-rower Chris Jack says. Both sides named unchanged sides on Thursday for the final at Christchurch’s Jade Stadium.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has ordered his government to reduce its dependence on foreign aid and lashed out at ”paternalist” donors whom he said want to impose their values on his country. ”I do not accept someone telling me how to run Uganda because I know Uganda better,” said Museveni.