The Afghan government threatened to use force against Taliban fighters holding 22 South Korean aid workers on Saturday unless the 10-day kidnapping crisis was resolved quickly. The insurgents executed one hostage last week as Korean and Afghan negotiators scrambled to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
In the darkest depths of the Arctic Ocean, a new Cold War is brewing. American and British nuclear submarines lurk in the shadows, preparing for company. Such talk is redolent of a Le Carré novel. But the battle between the West and Russia over who owns the Arctic has been building for years.
Iraq is facing a hidden healthcare and social crisis over the soaring number of amputations, largely of lower limbs, necessitated by the daily explosions and violence gripping the country. The revelation of the scale of limb loss suffered by Iraqi civilians is not entirely surprising, even though it has gone unreported.
The Bush administration is expected to announce a massive series of arms deals in the Middle East on Monday that are being seen as part of a diplomatic offensive against the growing influence of Iran in the volatile region. The centrepiece of the deals is an agreement between the United States and a group of Persian Gulf nations.
The national executive committee of the African National Congress (ANC) on Saturday reviewed the deliberations and outcomes of the party’s recent policy conference, and debate focused on the policy challenges towards 2012. Guidelines and a timeframe for anaudit of ANC membership were discussed.
Faced with mounting energy crises, many African nations in recent years have zealously launched projects to produce cheaper biofuels, but few have gained steam. Struggling under the ever-rising cost of fossil fuels while fighting crippling levels of poverty and disease, Africa hopes biofuels will boost its economic fortunes.
The people behind the "special browse" report — about an alleged plot to overthrow the government — must be identified, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Saturday following the announcement of the outcome of a government probe into the origin of the document. "[We] will be very interested to see whether any of them are arrested and convicted," Cosatu said.
If you want to get rich from writing, Don Marquis once suggested, write the sort of thing that’s read by persons who move their lips when they’re reading to themselves. Marquis had rock-steady sights and, once, this remark would have thudded home clean and true. But no longer.
A bemused and bewildered Orlando Pirates were all at sea as record R190-million signing Darren Bent ran riot and virtually assured a 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur victory after 22 minutes of a one-sided Vodacom Challenge final at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon. The rest of the game on a sun-soaked but somewhat chilly winter afternoon was little more than an exhibition match.
An announcement on the country’s suspended National Lottery is expected within days, according to Department of Trade and Industry insiders, media reports said on Saturday. According to sources, the National Lotteries Board has recommended that the government stick with the initial winning bidder, the Gidani Consortium.