A defence witness in Saddam Hussein’s trial over the killings of Iraqi Shi’ite villagers claimed many of those allegedly executed were still alive and said the prosecution case was built on bribes. The anonymous witness said he was a teenager in Dujail in 1982, when an attempt on Saddam’s life led to what the prosecution has termed was a massive crackdown on the village.
Somalia is on the brink of major disaster as conflict spirals out of control in Mogadishu and donors fail to respond to humanitarian emergencies in the lawless nation, a senior United Nations envoy said on Tuesday. Already beset with drought and poverty, the people of Somalia have been further hit by the fighting that has engulfed the capital.
Big business and government leaders, including President Thabo Mbeki and Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa, agreed on Tuesday that there was ”no need to panic” over the matters of transition from an Mbeki presidency to a new one. These words were used by Standard Bank’s Saki Macozoma.
Desmond Dekker, who brought the sound of Jamaican ska music to the world with hits such as Israelites, has died, his manager said on Friday. He was 64. Dekker, who lived in England, collapsed from an apparent heart attack at his home on Thursday, manager Delroy Williams said.
Iran’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that his country was willing to restart negotiations with the European Union immediately over its nuclear-enrichment programme. "Iran is ready to respond positively in resuming negotiations," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said following Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) talks.
A South African court on Tuesday began hearing an appeal from 13 HIV-positive prisoners demanding access to free anti-retroviral treatment in line with a government scheme launched in 2003. Lawyers representing the prisoners from Westville jail are arguing before the High Court in Durban that a series of bureaucratic hurdles are preventing them from accessing free ARVs.
Springbok coach Jake White landed a small surprise when he named centre Jean de Villiers to lead the team in their unofficial match against the World XV in Johannesburg on Saturday. De Villiers, by his own admission, has limited captaining experience but feels he is equipped for the job.
The South African economy grew by 4,2% in the first quarter of this year, Statistics South Africa announced on Tuesday. ”According to preliminary indicators, the seasonally adjusted real GDP prices for the first quarter of 2006 increased by an annualised rate of 4,2% compared with the fourth quarter of 2005,” it said.
European Union (EU) enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn on Tuesday urged Belgrade and Podgorica to engage in constructive talks on their ”velvet divorce” after Montenegro’s historic independence referendum on May 21. Rehn said that both sides must adhere to standards agreed upon with the EU over the dissolution of their loose federation.
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has defended the high revenue overruns of the state saying it was natural in an environment of strong growth, high corporate profits and more money being about. He was present at the Finance Portfolio committee hearing on Tuesday with the South African Revenue Service — which has reported strong revenue growth for some years.