When the new Pan-African Parliament is inaugurated in Ethiopia next week, it will confront a host of challenging issues — not least the role of mercenaries in Africa. ”Mercenaries are now topical. They are in the news,” Frene Ginwala, the Speaker of South Africa’s National Assembly, told journalists in Johannesburg on March 12.
At least 74 people were killed when cyclone Gafilo ripped across northern Madagascar eight days ago, rescue officials said on Monday. The storm also left about 200 000 homeless and 169 people were still listed as missing, including 100 of the passengers and crew of a ferry from the nearby Comoro Islands that sank during the storm.
EU competition watchdogs met on Monday with officials from EU states seeking their accord to slap sanctions on software giant Microsoft for abusing its dominant market position. A source close to the talks said that EU competition commissioner Mario Monti ”should get the support” of member states, who rarely overturn a decision by the European Commission.
Terror warnings from the United States and other countries in the past ten months have left nearly 14 000 Kenyan hotel workers unemployed, the Nairobi daily East African Standard reported on Monday. In most hotels on the coast and in national parks, the occupation rate has dropped 65%.
Following the unveiling of the much-awaited black economic empowerment (BEE) draft charter on information communications technology last week, the charter’s working group on Monday launched roadshows in East London and Port Elizabeth.
The hungrier you are the more sensitive the taste of sweet and salty food, scientists say. Simply skipping breakfast is enough to make the brain more sensitive to sweet and salty tastes — and could explain why dieting is so difficult.
The rape case against Judge Siraj Desai in Mumbai, India, could not go ahead on Monday as no judge was available, his lawyer said. ”There is no case today. There is no judge available,” said Desai’s lawyer RA Shaikh. He said the case could resume on March 17.
The South African women’s national soccer team, Banyana Banyana, are in tears not because they won or lost to Nigeria on Friday but because they are not being recognised for their contribution to the sport. Most of the women who play soccer in this country for their various teams earn less than South Africa’s pensioners do.
About 4 000 people have been left homeless by a fire on Sunday that killed six residents of Langa’s Joe Slovo township, Cape Town emergency services said on Monday. Spokesperson Johan Minnie said the homeless are being housed in two halls in the area and a number of NGO’s had donated blankets and food.
During his second mandate Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to steer back toward Soviet ways on the domestic front while pushing through economic reforms in an effort to attract more Western investment. After his first four years at the helm, Putin has managed to accumulate astounding power reminiscent of the omnipotence of Soviet leaders.