Death squads linked to Ivory Coast’s government are murdering opposition leaders and supporters in Abidjan, where rising ethnic tensions are drawing comparisons with Rwanda on the eve of its 1994 genocide, investigators for the UN’s high commissioner for human rights have warned.

Trials of a potential Aids vaccine for Africa have begun with human volunteers in Uganda, one of the worst hit countries on the continent, it was announced yesterday.

Osama bin Laden last night returned to haunt America in the midst of preparations for a war in Iraq, when a new tape attributed to the al-Qaeda leader was broadcast on the leading Arab television network, urging Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against the United States.

A mysterious group of vigilantes called the Black Scorpions has arisen in the Upper Tugela area of KwaZulu-Natal to combat the rampant stock theft in the area that residents say the police cannot — or will not — control.

Controversy continues to dog the Immigration Act, as regulations issued in terms of it by Minister of Home Affairs Mangosuthu Buthelezi receive flak from both the ruling party and the opposition.

Andrew Symonds clubbed a maiden one-day century as Australia overcame the shock loss of Shane Warne, the availability of only 12 players ad a jittery start to post a comanding 310 for eight as they began their defence of the World Cup against Pakistan at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board had still not decided whether or not it is going to boycott its fixture in Zimbabwe because of security fears.