The South African Students’ Congress on Wednesday decided to embark on mass protests against alleged racist policies at the University of Pretoria (Tuks). At a meeting attended by approximately 150 students, it was decided to ”go to the streets” in protest against allegedly racist policies adopted by the university.
Avian flu has been detected on three more farms near Middleton in the Eastern Cape, but the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs said on Wednesday there is no need to panic as the farms are within its quarantine zone. Blood and tissue samples from ostrich farms around the country are also being tested.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza pull-out plan was hanging in the balance on Wednesday as his right-wing Likud party was to vote on his ambitions to bring the opposition Labour party into a new broad-based coalition. Meanwhile, Yasser Arafat made a rare admission of failure in his own keynote address to MPs.
The South African movie Forgiveness has received two prestigious awards at Switzerland’s 57th Locarno International Film Festival, taking away the best-film accolade and the Human Rights prize against stiff competition. Forgiveness stood out in a festival dominated by Middle Eastern themes.
Couples who fancy a literally wild wedding party can now hold their reception among the animals at one of Singapore’s top nature parks. Newlyweds can choose from a variety of themed receptions at the Singapore Zoo or Jurong Bird Park, which are managed by Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
United Nations experts warned in Rome on Wednesday of a worsening locust crisis in Mauritania, Mali and Niger as huge swarms of the insects cut a swathe through the West African countries. North-moving swarms are threatening crops and vegetation in Mauritania, where the situation is expected to worsen.
It’s been a rough month for hotel heiress Paris Hilton. First, her Hollywood Hills home was burglarised and now her pet chihuahua, Tinkerbell, has disappeared. Hilton, star of the Fox television network’s reality show The Simple Life II: Road Trip, is offering a 000 reward for her dog, missing since last Wednesday.
The South African Navy’s fourth and last patrol corvette, the SAS Mendi, will set sail from Kiel, Germany, on Friday, the navy said in Pretoria on Wednesday. The ship, a German-built Meko A200SAN patrol corvette, will be joining her three sisters — the SAS Spioenkop, the SAS Amatola and the SAS Isandhlwana — in Simon’s Town.
Children played on Wednesday on a main highway in southern Nepal as a Maoist blockade of the capital brought intercity traffic to a halt and left many residents of the Himalayan kingdom fuming. The Maoists said they will keep up the blockade indefinitely until their demands are met.
Dressed in a tuxedo, Simba sat at the front of one of Manhattan’s newest dining establishments and nodded at people who greeted him. Then he yawned, began to roll on the floor and lick his paws. That’s acceptable behaviour at the Meow Mix Café, a new eatery designed especially for cats and their human owners.