At least nine people were killed when a huge car bomb exploded outside a police station in Baghdad on Monday in a near daily scene of chaos and bloodshed for the newly-sovereign Iraq. The latest attack capped a week of at least seven car bombings that have left scores of people dead and injured, throwing up a huge challenge for the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Residents evicted from their houses in Protea Glen, Soweto, will be relocated to free Reconstruction and Development Programme houses in Doornkop outside Soweto from Monday, Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu said on Sunday. Sisulu addressed a public meeting of more than 2 000 people in a bid to resolve the area’s housing problem.
It is not often that you hear of a renowned, five-star hotel going to the dogs. But on the outer reaches of Cape Town, the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa has literally done just that, welcoming guests of the canine variety with special two day Smooch Your Pooch packages.
While the Zambian hotels and resorts fronting the Victoria Falls are teeming with tourists, it is relatively quiet on the other side of the river. "Zimbabwe’s political and economic woes have benefited us tremendously," explains one of the locals, adding that tourism has probably been the biggest benefactor.
South African Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin has promised that he will intervene in the matter of the relocation of a tank farm operated by petroleum companies at the Port Elizabeth harbour. Erwin has indicated that while the National Port Authority would not pay for relocation, it would provide land at the new Coega port.
The dispute between Harmony and the National Union of Metalworkers (NUM) over the closure of shafts and the retrenchment of 9 000 workers has been resolved, the union said on Sunday. The two parties have signed an agreement preventing the closure of shafts and the retrenchment of workers.
The Sudanese government is directly responsible for crimes against humanity in its strife-torn western region of Darfur, including the widespread rape of women, rights group Amnesty International charged on Monday. Refugees from Darfur described a pattern of ”systematic and unlawful attacks” against civilians by both a government-sponsored Arab militia and the Sudanese military forces.
Sudan peace talks collapse
A team from the national Department of Social Development is visiting the Western Cape to outline the processes of the establishment of the South African Social Security Agency, the government news agency said on Monday. The agency will ultimately take over from provinces the payment of social welfare grants.
Dual-listed telecommunications giant Telkom on Monday stated that only 82, or 6%, of the 1 381 employees earmarked for retrenchments are likely to be forcibly retrenched. Telkom group human resources director Oupa Magashula said the company continues to explore other alternatives to retain affected workers.
Zimbabwe is threatening to close down non-governmental organisations and arrest their employees if they do not obtain permission from the government for their activities, the state-run Sunday Mail reported. The paper said ”quite a number” of NGOs had not registered for government licences and were believed to be operating illegally and engaging in political activities.