Tribal warriors in traditional feathered headdresses jab the air with spears as the funeral cortege passes, symbolically repelling death from the village. The cattle of the homestead are herded out to join the procession, but several bulls, sheep and chicken have already been slaughtered to feed mourners who will descend on the family home for up to a month.

Saddam Hussein has been formally declared an enemy prisoner of war, but is still resisting pressure to help his American interrogators after three weeks in custody. The former dictator, captured almost a month ago, is being given all the rights due him under the Geneva conventions on enemy prisoners of war.

A leftwing bookshop cafe is the perfect place in George Bush’s Washington for a conversation about the possibility of a progressive run for the US presidency: it is quiet and virtually deserted.

The US president, George Bush, will announce plans next week to build a human settlement on the moon, with a view to sending humans to Mars. In an attempt to reinvigorate the space programme, still reeling from last year’s Columbia shuttle tragedy, Bush will unveil plans to create a permanent science base for people on the moon.

Opposition political parties on Friday sharply criticised the SABC’s decision to broadcast President Thabo Mbeki’s speech at this weekend’s launch of the African National Congress election manifesto. ”The SABC is being turned back into an apartheid-style state broadcaster,” said the IFP.