Europe has never been so strong, safe or united, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski told leaders from across the continent as he opened the Council of Europe’s ”unity” summit at Warsaw’s Royal Castle on Monday. ”Never before has Europe been so strong, so safe, so close to being united,” Kwasniewski said.
Lesotho is facing a fourth successive year of severe food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). Early assessment of the 2004/05 harvest has shown there will be some improvement in the cereal yield, although it is expected to be below the five-year average.
The Inkatha Freedom Party has cracked the whip following a public debate about its leadership, with its national chairperson swearing allegiance to 76-year-old party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi. There is tension in the party, with persistent talk that Buthelezi is being challenged for his position by the party’s traditionalist guard.
Protests over municipal service delivery and lack of housing in the Eastern Cape has entered its second week, with dissatisfied residents on Monday blockading roads and burning tyres near Port Elizabeth. There were unconfirmed reports of motorists being stoned along the M14 and Uitenhage roads, police said.
Holding vigil at the gates of Neverland, fans wait for a glimpse of Michael Jackson, horrified at the child-sex charges against the star they say is just a boy who wouldn’t grow up. A wave from their idol out of a car window stirs a frenzy of excitement, but the hardcore supporters insist they have not come to star-gaze.
Twelve Algerian troops were killed and a number wounded in a weekend ambush by armed Islamist rebels, Algerian media reported on Monday, indicating that despite official statements the unrest is far from over. A bomb exploded as the troops’ convoy was travelling on Sunday near Khenchela, a city about 540km east of the capital, Algiers.
Nine people have died from an infection caused by an Ebola-like virus in the north-western reaches of the Republic of Congo, travel health specialist Dr Andrew Jamieson warned on Monday. According to health authorities, at least 11 people have contracted the disease since May 4.
A bid to set a universal standard for next-generation DVDs that could ease the lives of consumers is proving difficult, with wide gaps between Sony and Toshiba on which technology should be used, Toshiba’s negotiator said on Monday. The two Japanese giants have each promoted their own next-generation DVD system.
Top-ranked Roger Federer beat French teenager Richard Gasquet 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Sunday to defend his Hamburg Masters title and collect his tour-leading sixth championship of the year. By avenging one of only two losses this year, Federer stretched an Open-era record — he has now won 19 consecutive finals.
Opener Boeta Dippenaar stroked an unbeaten 61 on Sunday as South Africa secured an historic 5-0 sweep of the West Indies with a seven-wicket win in the rain-shortened fifth and final one-day cricket international. The West Indies were restricted to 138 for seven after morning rain reduced the match to 20 overs per side.