No image available
/ 16 December 2006
Armed men have attacked an oil installation belonging to the Royal Dutch Shell company in Nigeria’s volatile southern Niger Delta region, industry sources said on Friday. They said there were no casualties in the attack late on Thursday afternoon, but a number of oil workers were being held at the facility, in the southern Bayelsa state.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
Pushing presidential elections to 2010 could prove costly for Zimbabwe as it is certain to increase negative publicity for a country that will also be eyeing a share of Africa’s first World Cup hosting, analysts warned on Friday. Presidential elections are scheduled for 2008 but could be moved to 2010 to coincide with parliamentary polls.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
The bombs didn’t stop and the gunfire wasn’t celebratory. But nothing was going to distract millions of football-mad Iraqis from the on-field fortunes of the Lions of Mesopotamia on Friday as they battled to bring back the soccer gold medal from the Asian Games to their strife-torn homeland.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
Florida on Friday became the third American state to suspend all executions, sharpening the debate about the morality of putting convicted murderers to death by lethal injection. Governor Jeb Bush announced a temporary reprieve for 374 prisoners on death row after the medical examiner ruled officials had botched an execution this week.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
Palestinian factions fought on the streets of Gaza and the West Bank on Friday as the territories slid further into violence and political confrontation. In Gaza City the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, appeared before a rally of tens of thousands of Hamas supporters, while in Ramallah at least 30 people were hurt in clashes.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
A personal air filter sparked a fire on a Continental Airlines jet with 160 people on board, forcing an emergency landing on Friday. Six people were taken to a hospital, officials said. Their condition was not immediately known, John McGinley, Colorado Springs Airport’s assistant director of operations, told the Gazette of Colorado Springs.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
Hundreds of mineworkers at the Centurion gold mine in Primrose, Germiston, were back at work following protests against working conditions, their union said on Friday after an out-of-court settlement was reached. Members of the National Union of Mineworkers decided to down tools last week.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
Two more MPs have been fined — under plea agreements with the state — for their role in the Travelgate scam, media reports said on Friday. African National Congress MP Danny Olifant was given the option of paying a R30 000 fine or spending three years in jail. Former Democratic Alliance MP Craig Morkel was fined R25 000 or three years in prison.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
Global spiritual and humanitarian leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar met South Africa’s top judges on Friday as part of his three-day tour of the country. A founder member of the Art of Living Foundation, Shankar visited South Africa as part of the celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi’s passive-resistance campaign.
No image available
/ 16 December 2006
A ”rubber duck” surf boat, with 12 people on board, exploded offshore near the Fish River Sun on Friday afternoon, the National Sea Rescue Institute said. Spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the boat’s occupants — believed to be divers — were not injured in the accident as they abandoned it minutes before it exploded.