Basic commodities had all but disappeared from some shop shelves in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, a day after the authorities ordered a drastic 50% price slash. A snap survey in several supermarkets in Harare showed that bread, milk, flour and cooking oil were no longer on the shelves.
Twenty-eight people were arrested during a protest outside municipal offices in Boipatong, near Vanderbijlpark, on Wednesday, police said. About 50 disgruntled municipal contract workers had been burning tyres and stoning police because they did not want their three-month contracts to end, Captain William Mcera said.
Tony Blair prepared on Wednesday to hand the British premiership to Gordon Brown after 10 years in office, as speculation grew he was to become a Middle East envoy. The formal handover was scheduled to take place at Queen Elizabeth II’s official London residence at Buckingham Palace.
Johannesburg’s first real snowfall in more than 20 years and the freezing temperatures that accompanied it claimed at least one life on Wednesday morning. Motorists were warned to avoid all passes in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday due to snowfalls, the South African Weather Service said.
Israeli forces killed at least 11 Palestinians, most of them gunmen, on Wednesday in their biggest raid in the Gaza Strip since Hamas Islamists took over the territory two weeks ago, medical workers and residents said. The operation in Gaza City and the southern town of Khan Younis appeared to signal that Israel intended to keep strong military pressure on Hamas.
World number four Adam Scott will defend his Singapore Open title in November, with world number five Vijay Singh and world number six Ernie Els attempting to dethrone him. The golfing big guns are heading to the city-state with prize money for the tournament at the newly renovated Serapong course at Sentosa Golf Club boosted by -million.
The World Bank has approved an -million credit to help Kenya in its fight against Aids, which the government says kills hundreds of people daily. The money will be used to improve governance in the state-run National Aids Control Council, which coordinates activities of NGOs involved in the fight against Aids. Some of the money will also be given as grants to NGOs.
Hundreds of angry Kashmiri villagers paraded two Indian soldiers naked through the streets after they were ”caught trying to rape” a 17-year-old girl, witnesses and newspaper reports said on Wednesday. Police said they were investigating the incident, which took place late on Tuesday in Kunan, a village north of Srinagar.
The JSE remained under pressure at noon on Wednesday as weaker metal prices weighed on heavily weighted resource stocks, while investors digested the slightly above forecast inflation data. At noon, the all-share index was off 1,37%. Resources gave up 2,38% and the gold- and platinum-mining indices were down 0,84% and 1,69% respectively.
Delegates were on Wednesday morning filling up the ballroom at Gallagher Estate, venue of the African National Congress’s (ANC) policy conference in a bitterly cold Midrand, Gauteng, raising the roof with song. About 1Â 500 delegates are expected to attend the four-day conference, due to be opened by President Thabo Mbeki.