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/ 11 October 2004
Jubilee South Africa and the Khulumani Support Group for apartheid survivors contested the government’s view on Monday that reparations lawsuits in the United States were unnecessary because the issue had been dealt with. The groups, who are suing 23 multinational companies in a New York court for supporting apartheid, said they were disappointed with a letter from Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla.
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/ 11 October 2004
Mount St Helens on Sunday vented a new column of steam, a lazy plume that rose out of the crater of the snow-dusted volcano. The venting reminded scientists of the volcano’s activity 20 years ago before its catastrophic 1980 eruption. The steam emission followed an increase in earthquake activity over the previous two days.
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/ 11 October 2004
Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo called a meeting with unions and fuel distributors on Monday on the first day of a general strike called over rising petrol prices, officials and labour leaders said. But the main leader of the strike told reporters at his headquarters that his way to the talks was blocked by police.
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/ 11 October 2004
President George Bush’s tactic heading into the third and final presidential debate this week is to paint his opponent John Kerry as a dangerous leftist who wants to increase the government’s role in public life. ”You’re going to hear a lot more about Senator Kerry’s record in the coming days,” Bush strategist Karl Rove advised.
Kerry ups ‘likeability’ rating
US presidential race back in balance
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/ 11 October 2004
India is to send about 3 000 troops for United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), making it one of the largest contingents in the strife-torn African nation, a senior official said on Monday. India’s present deployment consists of a 300-strong air force contingent armed with Mi-35 utility and attack helicopters and a 100-member army team.
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/ 11 October 2004
Millions of Beijing residents were warned to stay indoors at the weekend as a hazardous smog choked the city, closed highways and forced the cancellation of an air show for the visiting French president, Jacques Chirac. According to the World Bank, 16 of the planet’s 20 most polluted cities are in China.
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/ 11 October 2004
Israel was pushing on with its deadly offensive in Gaza on Monday despite reservations of army chiefs. Senior officers reportedly told Sharon that Operation Days of Penitence had now met its main objective, but Sharon told top brass that they must push on with the operation.
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/ 11 October 2004
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has told traditional leaders that he has long been concerned that the South African government lacks the resolve to address ”the issue of the obliteration of the powers and functions of amakhosi [traditional leaders]” through the imposition of municipalities.
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/ 11 October 2004
The vicious war that once characterised relations between the Johannesburg Metropolitan Council and street vendors seems to be heading towards a peaceful settlement, government news agency BuaNews reported on Monday. The local council has come up with a deal to ensure pavement traders continue doing business.
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/ 11 October 2004
Member states to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) on Monday adopted an ”action plan” that places further controls on the illegal ivory trade in Africa. The plan, Cites document 29,1, calls on African ”range states” with large elephant populations to prohibit unregulated domestic sales in ivory, placing the onus on sellers to prove that their sources are legal.