No image available
/ 20 January 2004
A World Health Organisation (WHO) official in Ethiopia has dismissed an article in a respected British medical journal that claims the United Nations agency is undermining the fight against malaria. <i>The Lancet</i> accuses the agency of approving cheap drugs that do not work, and blocking the use of a newer treatment.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
The French government’s plan to ban Islamic veils from schools came under sustained fire on Monday when MPs, shaken by a weekend of protests and violence, began asking whether the move would inflame religious tensions rather than ease them.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
Landmines and torrential rains have prevented UN aid workers from distributing supplies in Angola for the past month. Landmines are a constant problem in Angola, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, but the danger is worsened during periods of heavy rain.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
After poor summer rainfall, a favourable rain-producing weather system is developing, the South African Weather Service said on Tuesday. The key areas that could receive decent rain in the next week are the North West, Gauteng and Free State provinces, with heavy falls possible in places.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
World number two miner, South Africa’s AngloGold, has received payment from Tanami Gold NL as consideration for the purchase of the Western Tanami Project in Australia, AngloGold announced on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
South Africa’s largest Bushman settlement started a new chapter in their history on Tuesday. For the first time ever, the children of Platfontein near Kimberley in the Northern Cape went to school in a proper school building. The !Xunkhwesa Combined School reopened for the new year with 1 200 pupils and 33 teachers.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
The Foundation for Human Rights said on Monday it would take steps to ensure that Judge Siraj Desai and his alleged rape victim would be provided with the appropriate support. The foundation’s board of trustees said that, at the same time, it would allow the law to take its course.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
Africa’s last absolute monarch, Swaziland’s King Mswati III, has deferred the re-opening of schools by a week to next Tuesday as schoolboys have not finished weeding royal fields. Acting Education Minister Themba Msibi said the objective was to allow schoolboys in royal regiments ”to complete royal duties assigned to them by the king”.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Monday dismissed a complaint laid by several opposition political parties against the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The broadcaster drew the ire of opposition parties after it screened the launch of the ANC’s election manifesto.
No image available
/ 20 January 2004
Israel is to make minor changes to the route of its ”security fence” through the occupied West Bank after lawyers warned that the present path may be indefensible in court. The move comes ahead of a high court hearing next month challenging the legality of building the vast steel and concrete barrier on Palestinian land.