Authorities in Zimbabwe’s capital who have destroyed thousands of market stalls as part of a clean-up campaign are now planning to rid Harare of backyard shacks housing tens of thousands of people, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. Operation Restore Order has led to the arrest of nearly 10 000 people.
Sensitive diplomatic talks over Iran’s nuclear programme appear doomed to failure, a leading think-tank said on Tuesday on the eve of crucial negotiations between European foreign ministers and Iranian officials in Geneva. Britain, France and Germany hope to persuade Tehran to scrap its uranium-enrichment programme.
World media chiefs meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, demanded action on Tuesday from the Gambian government on the as-yet unsolved December murder of a journalist, and pilloried the country for repressing the independent press. Deyda Hydara, the co-founder and editor of the independent newspaper The Point, was killed last year.
The spiralling use of the drug ”tik” in South Africa, especially among the youth, came under the spotlight in Parliament on Tuesday, with Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour vowing to ”break the back” of those peddling the deadly substance. He also spoke about the issues of prison gangs and overcrowding.
Unbearable smells and huge rats raiding their houses will soon be history for a community living near an illegal waste site in Alexandra, which was closed down on Tuesday. Gauteng environment minister Khabisi Mosunkutu visited the site to issue a final warning to SA Waste company management for operating an illegal waste site.
South African Rugby Union president Brian van Rooyen expressed regret on Tuesday that the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee has called on the top leadership structure of his organisation to step down. ”We can’t arbitrarily dismiss elected officials,” he said.
The price of petrol will drop to below R5 a litre from Wednesday next week, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Tuesday. The department said the price of petrol of all grades will decrease by 24c a litre. That means motorists in Gauteng using 93 octane petrol will pay R4,98 per litre, effective from June 1.
The future of South Africa’s energy lies not in oil or gas but in hydrogen and fuel cells, Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena said on Tuesday. He said hydrogen and fuel cells are globally believed to be the energy solution for the 21st century by enabling clean, efficient production of power and heat.
It is irresponsible to sell HIV/Aids testing kits to the general public, the South African Medical Association said on Tuesday. Chairperson Dr Kgosi Letlape said that self-testing without counselling could be disastrous for those concerned. He said that selling the kits in supermarkets could also lead to their abuse by employers or insurers.
Sudanese authorities on Saturday shut down the Khartoum Monitor, a newspaper located in Arkawait town near the capital, Khartoum, following a disagreement over two articles that the paper had planned to publish. ”The government is trying to censor us, and we are fighting,” said the paper’s editor-in-chief.