Rustlers shot and killed 10 people, including five children, in two raids in northern Kenya and set dozens of huts on fire before stealing thousands of goats and hundreds of camels, officials said on Thursday. Security forces were pursuing the two groups of attackers who were attempting to return to their home villages.
An inquiry must be launched into the impact the Zimbabwean banking crisis will have on South African banks that have major equity stakes or subsidiaries active in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Alliance said. ”Minister [Trevor] Manuel must break his silence on the economic consequences of quiet diplomacy,” a DA spokesperson said.
The media have recently reported extensively on the furore surrounding global group Parmalat, leading to speculation about the certainty of the company’s prospects in South Africa. Parmalat South Africa has said it is not in any financial difficulty, but other parties, including a local union, disagree.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29402">Parmalat chaos still spreads</a>
President Bakili Muluzi’s convoy was caught in a five-car pile-up on Wednesday that injured Presidential Affairs Minister Ken Lipenga and three other people, officials said. Muluzi escaped unharmed. The accident occurred as Muluzi was returning home from the airport after attending a political rally in the Kasungu region.
The number of smokers is expected to decline in rich nations but will rise in developing countries by 2010, according to a report published on Thursday by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
A 56-year-old man was on Wednesday night pulled alive from the rubble of the Bam earthquake in southwest Iran, 13 days after the tragedy, medical officials said on Thursday morning. More than 30 000 people are believed to have died in the quake, which struck the town before dawn on December 26.
The total volume of goods transported in South Africa during October 2003 rose by 3,6% y/y and 6,3% m/m to a record 65,181-million tons, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday.
United States overseer Paul Bremer’s decision to free about 500 Iraqi prisoners shines the spotlight on the US-run penal system in Iraq, where human rights groups and family members complain people just vanish.
US to release Iraqi prisoners
After trading weaker all morning in a lethargic market, the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) perked up in noon trade when the rand weakened suddenly — and sharply — against the dollar. Dealers expected more strength from stocks if the rand remained at weaker levels.
South African Airways and Singapore Airlines said on Thursday they would comply with a controversial new US government directive banning passengers from loitering near toilets on flights to the United States.