An ambitious plan to reform the United Nations security council by expanding it from 15 members to 25 looks set to fail next week despite one of the most intense diplomatic lobbying exercises ever conducted, according to UN sources.
Suspended Scorpions deputy director Cornwell Tshavhungwa allegedly received a R500Â 000 bribe to subvert an investigation into alleged irregularities around a contract awarded by the Mpumalanga government to Rainbow Kwanda Communications. This has emerged from the 22-page charge sheet presented by the state to Magistrate Andries Lambrecht.
An intense row between parliamentary staff and management has been lent additional heat by the exclusion on "representivity" grounds of several coloured employees from the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Freedom Charter in Kliptown last month.
The events that led to the Oilgate saga: Iraq invades Kuwait; UN Security Council imposes comprehensive sanctions on Iraq, including lifeblood oil exports; UN approves Oil for Food programme to relieve civilian hardship — Iraq allowed to sell oil, with proceeds held in trust by UN and released only for approved humanitarian imports … See our timeline on how the ANC got involved …
This is the story of how South Africa’s ruling party offered solidarity to Saddam Hussein in exchange for crude oil — and how state resources were used to help the party in this ambitious fundraising project. The story is important for it reveals not only how the party subordinated principle to profit, but also how it engaged in business through what was effectively a front company.
Jozi FM, a community radio station that broadcasts to the southern parts of Johannesburg including Soweto, Ennerdale and Katlehong, is undergoing a major reshuffling of its senior management. The restructuring comes amidst a wide yet unverified radio industry rumour that funds from the station were not reaching the community on whose behalf Jozi FM is being run.
"If I’m asked about 7/7, I — a Yorkshire lad — will respond first by giving an out-clause to being labelled a terrorist lover", writes Dilpazier Aslam, a trainee reporter from <i>The Guardian</i>. "I think what happened in London was a sad day and not the way to express your political anger."
The number of man days lost to strikes this year rose from 200Â 000 at the end of the first quarter to 700Â 000 at the end of June, according to Andrew Levy & Associates. The major strike trigger was wages, which accounted for 99% of the total number of man days lost in the country. But this, according to an employment adviser for Andrew Levy & Associates, was unlikely to become a trend.
Before breathing a sigh of relief at rebel leader John Garang being sworn in as vice-president of Sudan, analysts were pointing to the difficulties that lie ahead. The peace brokered is a narrow one: a bilateral arrangement between the northern government of Omar el Bashir in Khartoum and Garang’s Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement in the south.
Cellphones moved a step closer to being fully-fledged Internet terminals when the .mobi domain was introduced this week. Until now, surfing the Web using a cellphone was hamstrung by two key issues: the speed of the connection and image-heavy websites designed for much larger computer screens.