Four more Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza strip on Friday as the military began razing hundreds of refugee homes in what the government called a security operation but critics described as retaliation for some of the worst casualties of the intifada. An Israeli MP called the destruction a war crime.
Robert Mugabe likes to win elections, but few imagined his appetite for victory would extend to Lupane, a constituency that has a special reason to loathe Zimbabwe’s president. It was here that he waged war against the Ndebele people two decades ago by exterminating entire villages, leaving forests dotted with mass graves.
The Imam Ali shrine, the most sacred site in the Shia religion, was damaged on Friday after a day of vicious fighting between United States forces and fighters loyal to the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the holy city of Najaf. The fighting rapidly spilled over into Najaf’s vast cemetery, known as the Valley of Peace.
Editor fired over fake Iraq photos
As the seven-year turnaround story of Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon) reached its climax this week, a key trade union warned of the dangers of growing casualisation and monopoly in the retail sector. Last week Edcon delivered market-defying results, which CEO Steve Ross made a point of noting "were underpinned by a sound economy".
South Africa has been chosen by Fifa as the host country for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The announcement was made by Fifa president Sepp Blatter in Zurich on Saturday. ”Fifa has made the right decision. It’s time to go out an celebrate,” said President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria as the bells of the Union Buildings rang out in celebration.
Mexican opposition politicians are appealing to Gabriel García Márquez, Latin America’s best-known writer, to mediate in the diplomatic crisis that has taken their country’s traditionally good relations with Cuba to the brink of collapse. García Márquez lives mostly in Mexico but is also a personal friend of Fidel Castro.
May, so far, has not been a particulary good month for Zimbabwean Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo. Last week Moyo was jeered in Maputo at the headquarters of the Mozambican Journalists Union by a group of journalists who prevented him from addressing a press conference.
Cheap digital technology is revolutionising the way news is gathered, disseminated and perceived — and in doing so, it is stoking a controversy. Over the past weeks, the world has reeled to the pictures of United States troops abusing Iraqi prisoners and the beheading of US contract worker Nicholas Berg.
Boland claimed their second piece of silverware in less than a year when they won the Vodacom Shield with a 19-12 (half-time 11-5) victory over the Eagles in Wellington on Friday. The home side captured the Absa Currie Cup first-division title last season and now have ensured that they will compete in the Vodacom Cup next year.