Post-war stringent diamond mining rules have bolstered export earnings in Sierra Leone, but the country’s nationals, rated among the poorest in the world, are yet to benefit from the boom. Diamond exports, the West African country’s major source of hard currency earnings, have increased fivefold in as many years.
Lieutenant Arjuman of the Kirkuk police lay unconscious in the recovery room after a successful operation to remove an insurgent’s bullet from his chest. Al-Jumhuriya hospital was quiet. At 10.30pm, a doctor moved along the corridor on the second floor and entered the recovery room. He leaned across the bed and turned off the oxygen supply. Half an hour later, Arjuman was dead.
Zimbabwe celebrates 26 years of independence from Britain on Tuesday with a shadow of seven years’ economic woes hanging over its freedom day. Zimbabwe gained independence from colonial master Britain on April 18 1980 after a protracted liberation war against white Rhodesian settlers, with President Robert Mugabe then winning plaudids for his conciliatory attitude to minority whites.
The gold mines are long exhausted but there is a new way to get rich in Johannesburg: property. An economic boom is transforming what was once South Africa’s byword for crime and decay into a vibrant metropolis. By some estimates the value of real estate has risen 35-fold in six years, an extraordinary surge that outstrips growth rates in Manhattan, London or Sydney.
World leaders, as well as Americans close to George Bush’s administration, called for calm over Iran’s nuclear programme on Sunday amid persistent reports that the United States is considering a military attack. In his Easter message from the Vatican, Pope Benedict spoke of ”international crises linked to nuclear power” and urged: ”May an honourable solution be found for all parties, through serious and honest negotiations.”
At least eight people were killed in two separate mine blasts in northern Sri Lanka on Monday, hours after Tiger rebels announced they are suspending participation in peace talks. The latest deaths raised to 64 the number of people, mostly police or troops, killed in bomb attacks in the past week in the latest surge of violence linked to the decades-old Tamil separatist conflict.
A career-best 133 by Jacob Oram put New Zealand in a commanding position at close of play on the second day of the first Castle Lager Test at Supersport Park on Sunday, after South Africa had the visitors on the ropes on 89 for six. New Zealand were all out for 327 shortly before stumps, for a first innings lead of 51.
Celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who have catapulted sleepy Namibia to overnight international fame, plan to have their baby in the Southern African nation and even give it a local name, according to a South African newspaper. The couple are reportedly staying at the luxury Burning Shores resort hotel between the scenic old colonial German town of Swakopmond.
India’s Jeev Mikkha Singh claimed his maiden European Tour victory in Beijing on Sunday, winning the ,8-million China Open by one shot over Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. The 34-year-old Indian carded a two-under par 70 around the Nick Faldo-designed course at Beijing’s Honghua International Golf Club, to finish at 10 under par for the tournament.
A four-try comeback by the Wellington Hurricanes in the second half turned around a half-time deficit to ensure a 29-13 victory against the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin on Sunday. The Hurricanes cemented their position near the top of the Super 14 table with their seventh win from nine games this season, although the five try to two win was not one of their more memorable performances.