The Bush administration is preparing to ramp up its confrontation with Iran by declaring part or all of the country’s Revolutionary Guard a ”global terrorist” organisation and targeting its extensive financial interests. The move is extremely provocative, given that the Revolutionary Guard Corps is an integral part of the state.
A strong typhoon off the Philippines’ mountainous north forced authorities to close schools in the capital for a second day on Thursday as disaster-response teams braced for possible floods and landslides. Typhoon Sepat was roaring over the Pacific Ocean with sustained winds of 185km/h and gusts of up to 220km/h.
New Delhi’s stray dogs lead a difficult life. But if it was up to one city councillor, they would find themselves in more hot water — soup, to be precise. Shipping the thousands of strays to Korea, where dog meat is widely consumed in soup, was one of the more outlandish ideas proposed at a city-council meeting to deal with the problem.
The City of Cape Town was on Wednesday evening ”in the process” of suspending 87 metro police officers who took part in a morning protest, spokesperson Pieter Cronje said. The officers blocked the N2 and delayed traffic as they ”drove very slowly” to the civic centre to hand over a petition, he said.
A massive earthquake hit Peru on Wednesday evening and officials said more than 330 people were dead in the rubble of collapsed homes and a church as rescuers searched for victims early on Thursday. Emergency workers said the coastal province of Ica south of Lima was the hardest-hit region.
Three men linked to the murder and rape of a four-year-old girl in Mhluzi near Middelburg appeared in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, Mpumalanga police said on Wednesday. The case of the three suspects aged 27, 20 and 17 was postponed to August 21 for a bail application.
The Gauteng provincial government on Wednesday launched watchdog committees in a bid to ensure accountability from municipalities. The municipal public accounts committees, the equivalent of Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts, will examine the financial statements of municipalities and their entities.
Outspoken workers in the public health sector are being gagged by the government, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said on Wednesday. A spokesperson said suspensions within the sector and the dismissal of the deputy health minister suggest that free speech needs ”intensive care”.
Three men arrested for allegedly stoning an albino man to death will appear in the Mapulana Magistrate’s Court near Bushbuckridge on Friday, Mpumalanga police said. A police spokesperson said a group of about 50 people attacked the man at his home on Friday night.
Kaizer Chiefs shrugged off their pre-season form to beat Benoni United 2-0 convincingly in their first 2007/08 Premier Soccer League clash in Germiston on Wednesday. In other matches, champions Mamelodi Sundowns were beaten 2-1 by Amazulu, Black Leopards beat Supersport United and Santos drew with Free State Stars.