A dissident Iranian journalist, Akbar Ganji, and a lawyer and broadcaster in Zimbabwe, Arnold Tsunga, will share a leading international human rights award this year. The award is presented every year by 11 of the world’s major human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The Turkish army confirmed on Tuesday that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet and a Greek F-16 fighter jet had collided over the eastern Aegean Sea after what it said was an attempt by Greek warplanes to intercept Turkish jets. The Turkish pilot ejected and survived the crash, a statement by the general staff said.
Johannesburg metropolitan police officers will stop at nothing to have their grievances heard by city manager Mavela Dlamini, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union said on Tuesday. Metro police officers marched from Beyers Naude Square to the metro centre on Tuesday, causing some of the inner-city streets to be closed to traffic.
Egypt’s interior ministry said on Tuesday the Egyptian group which carried out three simultaneous suicide bombings in the Sinai last month received support from Palestinian militants in Gaza and Egypt. Several members of the Tawhid wal Jihad group blamed for the bombings went to the Gaza Strip for training, it said in a statement.
Israel’s supreme court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Palestinians living on the outskirts of East Jerusalem against the construction of a new section of its West Bank barrier. Residents of al-Azaria, a Jerusalem suburb which is technically in the West Bank, had filed a petition against building work on the barrier.
Johannesburg International airport is to spend R3,4-billion upgrading facilities and security over the next four years. The upgrades include readying the airport to handle the giant Airbus A380, accommodating the Gautrain and building a 25km concrete perimeter wall. The wall will cost about R25,5-million.
Cellphone service providers who fail to keep information on their clients could be fined R100 000 for each day of non-compliance, according to draft interception legislation introduced in Parliament. In turn, customers who sold their cellphones could be imprisoned for up to 12 months for failing to relay the recipient’s personal information to a service provider.
Absenteeism due to flu and respiratory illness has not increased significantly in South Africa in the past five years, a study has found. Research released by absenteeism management specialists CAM Solutions has found that for every 100 employees, 66 are taking time off for flu every year.
Two senior United Nations officials arrived in Sudan on Tuesday to discuss the planned deployment of peacekeepers from the world body in the war-torn western region of Darfur. The envoys "will discuss the UN resolution on Darfur with the Sudanese authorities," UN spokesperson Bahaa Elhoussy told Agence France-Presse.
A sex-crimes trial against a Pretoria advocate was postponed in the city’s high court on Tuesday for two weeks due to her ill health. Proceedings were to have continued for the trial against Cezanne Visser in connection with alleged sexual offences, but she was found not to be in an ideal psychological or physical state to consult with lawyers.