John Paul II’s papacy has been one of the longest and most energetic of any in 2 000-odd years of the history of the Catholic Church. On that at least Catholics agree, but there is much less agreement on the nature of this remarkable man’s achievements. John Paul II attracted admiration, incomprehension and hate in almost equal measure.
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Rwanda’s envoy to the United Nations-backed court trying suspects in the country’s 1994 genocide, Aloys Mutabingwa, has called for the world body to prosecute French officials and soldiers allegedly complicit in the slaughter. He said several French political and military figures were among those ”individually or collectively responsible” for the genocide.
General Motors South Africa has been awarded an R18-billion contract to manufacture and export the United States-designed Hummer H3 vehicle, the company said on Wednesday. Production of the Hummer H3 2006 model will start in the fourth quarter of 2006 at the Struandale plant in Port Elizabeth.
The Western Cape agriculture department will on Wednesday announce quarantine measures and other plans to curb the spread of the blue-ear virus among pigs, the department said on Wednesday. Western Cape agriculture spokesperson Ali van Jaarsveld said an assessment would be done on Wednesday to establish the exact area to be quarantined.
One of the men accused of the kidnapping and murder of a Pretoria-based Chinese businessman and his family implicated a state witness in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Siyuan Liu was testifying against an application by the state to withdraw his R3 000 bail and keep him in custody until his October 10 trial.
Côte d’Ivoire political, rebel and opposition leaders on Wednesday formally declared an end to the war in that country. ”The parties … hereby solemnly declare the immediate and final cessation of all hostilities and the end of the war through the national territory,” stated an agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa.
President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party has threatened to seize commercial companies it says are trying to provoke food riots in the wake of last week’s parliamentary elections. Trade Minister Samual Mumbengegwi said manufacturers and retailers who raised prices should revert to previous levels because the increases had not been approved.
About 21 000 members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in the Free State have suspended their strike at Harmony Gold’s Free State operations and will return to work for the evening shift, ending a two-week strike, the NUM said on Wednesday. An agreement was reached between the union and the company on Wednesday afternoon.
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Zimbabwe’s main opposition said on Wednesday an investigation into last week’s election indicates massive fraud in at least 30 seats won by the ruling Zanu-PF. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said in 11 races the winning Zanu-PF candidate got more votes in the official returns than the electoral commission said were cast.