In a direct reference to Africa’s undemocratic leaders, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday urged them to pass the baton to the next generation. ”There is no greater wisdom and no clearer mark of statesmanship than knowing when to pass the torch to a new generation.
Mbeki, Obasanjo arrive in Addis
South Africa and Rwanda will be sending troops to Sudan as part of a United Nations initiative to bring peace to the region, South African defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota said in Kigali on Monday. South Africa is expected to contribute 10 high-ranking soldiers to the peace effort to act as platoon leaders. Rwanda was expected to provide 100 soldiers.
Leading alcoholic beverages groups Diageo, Heineken and Namibia Breweries have finally unveiled details surrounding their new South African joint venture company, which will trade under the name of brandhouse. The new company will be a formidable competitor in the local market, boasting sales of about R3-billion a year.
Shaking his head incredulously, South Africa’s Minister of Defence, Mosiuoa Lekota, stared at a bed of skeletons when he visited the Murambi Genocide Memorial in southern Rwanda on Tuesday. Survivors of the 1994 genocide in which about 800Â 000 Hutus and Tutsis were massacred claim the killings have not stopped.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=118261">Lekota in Rwanda for defence deal</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=118222">Rwandans face village justice</a>
Judges at Slobodan Milosevic’s war crimes trial on Monday ordered a ”radical review” of the hearing after the defendant’s poor health forced a fresh postponement of a case that has already dragged on for more than two years. So far he has defended himself against charges of genocide.
South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo were among the first leaders to arrive at the conference centre where the third ordinary session of the assembly of the African Union is taking place. A brass band from the Ethiopian police force and a traditional Ethiopian band welcomed delegates on a wet and rainy Tuesday morning.
While the number of legally exported diamonds from Sierra Leone had increased, reports indicate 40% of diamonds leaving the country were smuggled out. Blood diamonds funded fighting in Sierra Leone in the aftermath of the civil war which ended two years ago. The government eventually clamped down on the illegal trade through the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme.
Shaolin temple, the home of kung fu, has extended its self-defence strategy from martial arts to trademark protection. Monks at the 1 500-year-old Buddhist temple in Henan province plan to register the Shaolin name in more than 80 countries to prevent what they claim is its improper use to promote cigarettes, beer, lingerie and bogus schools.
Burkina Faso warned on Monday it would shoot down planes violating its airspace, as neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire denied veiled charges that its planes had committed any violations. ”We want the region to be peaceful and if the planes that overfly our territory, without authorisation, and which haven’t been announced continue, we will shoot them down,” said Burkinabe Foreign Minister Youssouf Ouedraogo.
South African Airways president and chief executive officer Andre Viljoen has resigned — although his contract was due to end only in 2006. Viljoen’s resignation will be effective from August 31. Acting board chairperson Tshidi Mokgabudi said: ”Mr Oyama Mabandla, currently deputy CEO, has been appointed acting chief executive from September 1, 2004.”