Bursting with national pride, Ethiopians this week celebrate the long-awaited return home of the famed Axum obelisk, a huge third-century BC funeral stela plundered by fascist Italy nearly 70 years ago. After decades of wrangling, the first of three pieces of the 160-tonne granite monument will arrive in Addis Ababa from Rome on Wednesday.
Prices commanded by some of South Africa’s top wines at the 2005 Nederburg auction, which took place in Paarl on April 9, have skyrocketed by 90%, boosted by a more restricted, higher quality offering, with the average price per nine-litre case of wine rising to an all-time high of R2Â 145 from R843,36 in 2004.
China Resources Snow Breweries, an associate of London and South African-listed SABMiller, has entered into an agreement with the Fuyang City government to acquire the assets of the Fuyang City Snowland Brewery Company in Anhui province for a cash consideration of $15-million.
A picture of Aristotle Onassis’s smiling face still hangs on a wall of the president’s office at Olympic Airlines. Days before the Greek state’s latest attempt to privatise the ailing enterprise, employees are not shy about saying what they need most is some of his Midas touch.
United States forces were on Sunday accused of violating international law by taking two Iraqi women hostage in a bungled effort to persuade fugitive male relatives to surrender. US soldiers seized a mother and daughter from their home in Baghdad two weeks ago and allegedly left a note on the gate: ”Be a man Muhammad Mukhlif and give yourself up and then we will release your sisters.”
For decades, Pearl Good kept the secret of the motor repair shop on Subocz Street and of the German army officer who declared her an essential war worker when really she was just darning socks. It was only when the 75-year-old Holocaust survivor returned to the street in Vilnius, Lithuania, six years ago that a tale of heroism began to be uncovered.
Israel was piling pressure on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to end rocket attacks by militant groups in the Gaza Strip ahead of a summit on Monday between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and United States President George Bush in Texas. A flare-up of violence over the weekend brought tensions between the two sides to a high point.
Prince Harry, the second son of the heir to the British throne, was expected to arrive in Lesotho on Monday, the British high commission there said. ”He will be here for a few days … Basically he will be here to follow up on the charity work he did when he was in Lesotho for two months last year,” said the deputy high commissioner to Lesotho.
A man is in a critical condition and four others were seriously injured when a car ploughed into about 35 motorbikes near Pretoria on Sunday, News24.com reported. Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said the seriously injured included a six-year-old boy.
Bloemfontein Celtic took home full points when they hammered Wits University in a Castle Premiership encounter at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium on Sunday. The tough tie saw the teams producing classic performances, scoring seven goals between them. The goal fest started in the first stanza.