<b>CD OF THE WEEK</b>: Prince makes his comeback after years of mediocrity, writes Alexis Petridis in London.
Somali pirates are demanding 000 for the release of a South Korean fishing vessel seized with a crew of 25 Asians this week off the coast of the lawless nation, elders said on Friday. Village elders — the traditional power base of rural Somalia — in the area near where the ship is being held said the gunmen were seeking payment of a ”fine” for illegal fishing and not a ransom.
In a bid to restore public confidence and rein in a recent crime wave, Tanzania’s national police chief on Friday ordered publication of all senior officers’ phone numbers, including his own. Inspector General Said Mwema said he hoped the move would boost communication between victims, witnesses and authorities and thus reduce crime.
Suspense was riding high on Friday as a judge in London prepared to deliver his verdict in a sensational lawsuit in which United States author Dan Brown stands accused of lifting parts of another novel to write his global best-seller The Da Vinci Code.
Kenyan authorities said on Friday they had arrested 14 suspected wildlife poachers, including seven Italians, and seized large amounts of ivory and other illegal animal trophies. In three separate raids this month, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said its rangers had recovered more than 160kg of elephant tusks and processed ivory.
The French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, vowed to battle on ”until the end” on Thursday, rejecting growing speculation he might resign over a youth job law that has brought millions to the streets. De Villepin’s popularity has slumped during weeks of protests against his First Job Contract (CPE), and he has also been weakened inside the ruling right.
The loss-making state airline Air Zimbabwe carried just 230Â 000 passengers last year, compared with more than a million in 1999, the official media reported on Friday. Acting chief executive Captatin Oscar Madombwe blamed the decline on negative publicity on political and economic turmoil in the country and a perception of safety concerns among both local and foreign travellers.
New Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete arrived in Pretoria on Friday for his first official visit to South Africa. Kikwete’s one-day working visit and meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki was to build on the growing partnerships between the two nations, which included a joint commission between their respective departments of foreign affairs and a presidential economic commission.
Oil-company and Nigerian officials said on Friday they were optimistic that the country’s oil production would recover as soon as next week, following rebel attacks earlier this year that knocked out more than a quarter of the country’s oil flows.
A dispute over South Africa’s economic direction lies at the heart of the conflict within the African National Congress, Democratic Alliance acting leader James Selfe said on Friday. ”The spy scandal that has emerged in recent weeks has shaken the foundations of our democratic order and has exposed the fault lines within the ruling party,” he said in the DA leader’s weekly newsletter.