The South African government has reiterated its concern about events in Haiti and the ousting of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The government is seriously concerned at the manner in which Aristide was forced to resign, as it was effectively a coup d’état, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court on Wednesday began hearing a constitutional challenge brought by the country’s main independent daily, a fierce critic of President Robert Mugabe, against tough media laws that were used to close down the newspaper last year.
The South African Police Service refuted on Wednesday statements by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that the country is one of the largest cannabis (dagga) producers in Africa. ”How can this be when Morocco has 133Â 000ha of dagga and we only have 1Â 200ha?” asked a narcotics police officer.
The United States is trying to remove Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe from power with millions of condoms as weapons, state radio in that country said on Wednesday. It said the US is behind the condoms that carry a sticker advertising ”revolutionary condoms” and a message urging Zimbabweans to ”get up, stand up!”.
Three members of the hardline Palestinian movement Hamas were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli helicopter strike on a car near Gaza City. The Israeli military’s Chief of Staff, Moshe Yaalon, announced on Tuesday that the army would intensify its operations against militant groups in the Palestinian territories.
The increase in the number of deaths on the population register is an indictment of government’s handling of the Aids pandemic, the United Democratic Movement and Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday. The number of deaths on the register rose by 68% over the past six years to 457Â 000 in 2003.
The patience of the poor should not be taken for granted, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said at a business meeting on Wednesday. Manuel told his audience they are privileged. Part of that privilege is the fact that poor South Africans are patient and have placed their trust in a better future.
A senior member of the London Metropolitan Police Service (LPMS) will assist South Africa in fighting corruption within its own police service, LPMS commissioner Sir John Stevens said on Wednesday. A British detective inspector will be seconded to the Independent Complaints Directorate for a year.
Iraqi officials on Wednesday multiplied their calls for calm fearing the attacks on Shiite Muslims that killed scores in two cities could radicalise the community. Angry Shiites in Baghdad accused radical Sunnis of being responsible. In Karbala, Shiites blamed Wahhabis, believers in a radical form of Sunni Islam from Saudi Arabia.
170 dead in Iraq on festival day
Member states of the East African Community have signed a protocol for establishing a customs union that is expected to boost growth in the region. The agreement was initialled on Tuesday in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha by the presidents of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It will take effect in July this year.