Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s controversial eviction of illegal dwellers will be studied by a United Nations envoy to see whether it has had a humanitarian impact on those affected by the measure, a UN spokesperson said on Monday.
It passed almost unnoticed when it was published in France last year, but L’amande or The Almond, a slim brown volume billed as the ”first erotic account written by an Arab woman”, has now sold rights in 17 countries, including Britain, where it is to be published next month.
Ethiopians like to look spic and span. Whether in western suits or traditional white cotton shawls, their clothing is kept spotless. The same cannot be said for the sprawling slums of Addis Ababa. In just over a century, Ethiopia’s capital has grown from a royal village founded by an African queen to a metropolis of over three million people.
He admires former United States president Ronald Reagan, respects Bill Clinton and bears no grudge against George Bush senior or junior. But he cannot abide Froot Loops. Saddam Hussein can forgive his enemies but not, say some of his US guards, sweet cereal.
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Former deputy president Jacob Zuma has welcomed the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to charge him on two counts of corruption. The ANC’s National Working Committee said it had accepted Zuma’s request to ”withdraw his participation from all ANC structures pending the completion of the legal process.” Zuma will however remain ANC deputy president.
Encompassing subsidiary companies Nedbank and Mutual & Federal, Old Mutual’s black economic empowerment (BEE) deal, announced in April, was among the biggest and broadest-based ever. It also displayed some unusual and innovative features, such as a BEE holding in the London-listed company rather than the local company and the involvement of customers.
The residential property market is showing signs of stabilising as activity has dropped marginally. There is, however, robust growth from the middle-income houses, according to the second-quarter FNB Residential Property Barometer. According to Ed Grondel, CEO of FNB Homeloans, the drop in activity can be attributed to seasonality, as winter sets in and fewer houses come to market.
On June 19 Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma, celebrated her 60th birthday under house arrest, leaving her opposition party adrift and powerless for its 16th year. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is the only Peace laureate imprisoned in the world at this moment. South Africa has a moral duty to support Burma in its quest for democracy.
All seven formula one teams who failed to race in Sunday’s US Grand Prix over fears that their Michelin tyres might be dangerous have been charged with bringing the sport into disrepute. The possibility of refunding fans who paid a ticket for Sunday’s fiasco at Indianapolis has also been raised. A refund was estimated to be around -million.
A 55-year-old businessman who shot dead a policeman who arrested him for drunken driving in 2003 was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the Pretoria High Court on Monday. Irish-born businessman John Raymond Whelan was sentenced for killing police officer Phillip du Plooy in March 2003.