Sudanese government troops and a force of about 600 rebels have clashed in Darfur region despite a ceasefire deal between the two sides, the Sudanese Media Centre reported on Wednesday. The centre said both sides suffered casualties in the fighting that, it said, started when rebels attacked government forces .
Eugene Terre’Blanche’s release from prison next Friday would kick-start the revival of the right-wing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) he founded 31 years ago, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The organisation was put on ice while Terre’Blanche served more than half of an effective five-year jail term for assaulting security guard Paul Motshabi in 1996 — leaving him disabled.
The Competition Tribunal has confirmed a consent order agreed between the Competition Commission and Toyota South Africa Motors, which followed an investigation by the commission of Toyota’s implementation and enforcement of a maximum discount policy.
South African food and industrial group AVI has reached an agreement to acquire Denny Mushrooms for R197,5-million rand, less all interest-bearing debt as at the effective date. Denny is a producer of fresh, canned and value-added mushroom products in South Africa, with a market share exceeding 50%.
Canadian aluminium group Alcan is set to make a decision soon about its involvement in South Africa’s proposed R14-billion Coega smelter, Alcan spokesperson Joseph Singerman said. In February, Alcan completed its $4,8-billion acquisition of French group Pechiney, which had planned to take a 49% stake in the Coega project.
The peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suffered a major blow on Wednesday when renegade soldiers captured a provincial capital in the volatile east of the country. During the DRC’s 1998 to 2003 civil war the town, Bukavu, was a stronghold of the Congolese Rally for Democracy.
Heavy fighting in Bukavu
When Frank Alain Kabore — the manager of a wildlife concession in Burkina Faso — looks back, he recalls that days used to go by without him seeing an elephant in the reserve, a decade ago. Today, he comes across one every 100m. It’s an environmental success story in this West African country that may yet return to haunt it.
At least four people were killed and more than 30 others wounded, including five children, in a car bombing and another blast on Wednesday in a northern Baghdad district, hospital and police sources said. Women were seen screaming and wailing at the hospital as ambulances ferried the wounded to the emergency department.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=67245">Bombs welcome new Iraqi president</a>
Foreign companies in Saudi Arabia are offering to repatriate the families of their staff in the wake of the bloody weekend rampage by militants that left 22 dead, most of them foreigners. As new clashes between suspected militants and security forces were reported in the west of the country, several Japanese companies joined Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, in offering to pull relatives out of the kingdom.
Beijing’s bureaucrats will vet Britney Spears’ wardrobe to ensure she does not reveal too much raw talent on her first tour of China next year, a government-run news organisation reported on Tuesday. The singer is seeking permission to perform five concerts in Shanghai and Beijing early next year, which would be among the biggest staged by a foreign act in China.