THE sound of gunshots echoed in many parts of the West Bank overnight as Israelis and Palestinians marked the start of the 27th day of clashes with more bloodshed. As the wave of violence continued, Palestinians planned to march on Israeli checkpoints to protest Israel’s ban on Palestinian labourers entering the Jewish State. – Reuters

SOUTH African carryover maize stock for the 2000/01 March-April marketing year is expected to be 2.724m tonnes, more than double the previous year’s figure, Grain SA said this week. The carryover figure would represent about 34% of South Africa’s expected domestic consumption of 7.9m tonnes this season. Carryover of unutilised maize for the previous year […]

FOOD-price riots broke out in Zimbabwe’s eastern city of Mutare less than a week after similar protests in the capital Harare, but police moved in quickly to quell them, state news agency ZIANA reported. Police arrested 19 protesters after a group of rioters allegedly looted bread from a supermarket and assaulted a security guard. – […]

SILVIA ALOISI, Abidjan | Tuesday THE organisers of Ivory Coast’s presidential poll have delayed the release of the election results, raising fears among supporters of Socialist Laurent Gbagbo that the ruling junta may be trying to cheat him of victory. A National Electoral Commission (CNE) official said it would resume announcing results after a 12-hour […]

A MOVE to ban women from working in gas stations and restaurants in the state of Khartoum was ”not considered beforehand,” the Sudanese justice minister said. However, he would not call the move unconstitutional, and warned that laws not in line Islamic Sharia law were being revised. – Reuters

ZIMBABWE Platinum Mines Ltd (Zimplats) said this week that a new fiscal regime for the mining industry was among key requirements for the company to proceed with a promising platinum mining project. Zimplats is 51% owned by Australia’s Delta Gold. The company acquired the Zimbabwean platinum operations of Australia’s BHP Ltd in 1999 after BHP […]

A STEAMY sex session between two goats led to the temporary closure of a high school in northern Swaziland last week. The amorous twosome disrupted classes at Timphisini Central High School after running into a Grade 8 classroom to engage in frenetic sex as bemused pupils watched. As the classroom erupted into catcalls and applause […]

PETER CUNLIFFE-JONES, Abuja | Monday THE Nigerian equivalent of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission this week launches 12 weeks of public hearings probing human rights abuses in Nigeria dating back to the first military coup in 1966. The commission, which was set up last year, has received over 10000 complaints of rights violations. Around […]

SCIENTISTS have successfully tested a natural insecticide against grasshoppers and locusts in Niger. The non-chemical insecticide, called Green Muscle, has no secondary effect on humans or animals, and kills only locusts and grasshoppers – longtime pests for farmers in Africa and elsewhere. It can be applied just once a season, and costs only one third […]