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/ 3 February 2005
SA Rugby bosses and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee executive emerged full of smiles from talks on Thursday, adamant that common ground had been reached. ”I think this was an excellent meeting — it was long overdue,” said SA Rugby president Brian van Rooyen.
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/ 3 February 2005
Nelson Mandela on Thursday compared widespread poverty in developing countries to man-made evils such as slavery and apartheid, and urged wealthy nations to do more to fight it. He was speaking before a crowd of several thousand people at a rally in London on the eve of a meeting by the finance ministers of the Group of Seven industrialised nations.
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/ 3 February 2005
The African National Congress says the so-called "Travelgate" probe into the misuse of MPs’ travel vouchers has been carried out in a "vindictive" and "unplanned" manner. But the official opposition Democratic Alliance says the ruling party wants to "smear the Scorpions" and "obscure the culpability" of MPs.
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/ 3 February 2005
France will take steps to break up and ban all neo-Nazi groups on French soil after new figures showed that the number of violent attacks they committed more than doubled last year, the interior minister said on Wednesday. According to a French intelligence service report, up to 20 such groups are active, mainly in Alsace.
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/ 3 February 2005
The manager of a popular café vowed on Thursday to keep controversial portraits of the Czech Republic president and premier painted on the inside of café urinals. ”It’s democracy,” said Radek Helia of the Spolek café, a hangout for artists and bookworms in Brno.
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/ 3 February 2005
All 22 members of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association (PMA) have agreed to adhere to their published medicine prices even though there is disagreement over whether they are legally obliged to do so, the PMA said on Thursday. The PMA is currently working to have all its members’ single exit prices on its website.
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/ 3 February 2005
Police investigating alleged sex abuse charges against Pretoria advocate Cezanne Visser were accused on Thursday of trying to trick her into confessing and becoming a state witness. Visser’s advocate, Gerhard Botha, charged investigating officer Captain Carel Cornelius with irregular conduct for visiting Visser in jail shortly after her arrest.
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/ 3 February 2005
The motto of the Norwegian Rock’n’Roll Federation could well be ”Turn it up!” but the group fears increasing numbers of members might respond to that request with an uncomprehending ”What?”. The group plans to distribute 100 000 earplugs at rock concerts, so fans can enjoy the loud music and still hear what’s said after the show.
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/ 3 February 2005
A Mauritanian court ended a mass coup trial on Thursday, condemning four top soldiers to life in prison and others to lesser sentences. Three main opposition leaders were acquitted, including Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, a former military dictator who overthrew current President Maaoya Sid’Ahmed Ould Taya two decades ago.
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/ 3 February 2005
Madagascar has banned a Brazilian sect and ordered it to cease operations in the vast Indian Ocean island, four months after its members were jailed for burning a Bible and other religious objects, officials said on Thursday. Last year, a court in Madagascar jailed four members of the same sect, which claims to have six million members worldwide.