A former rebel group in Burundi has won the majority of seats in the first parliamentary elections in the war-ravaged Central African nation in 12 years, the top election official said on Tuesday. The Forces for the Defence of Democracy won between 60% and 80% of the polling stations in Monday’s election.
A rare and deadly parasitic disease has killed 159 people since late last year during an outbreak in northern Ethiopia, an international aid agency said on Tuesday. A doctor from Médécins sans Frontières said the majority of deaths have been among children under the age of 12.
Albania’s rival political leaders continued to claim victory on Tuesday after a general election at the weekend that has been criticised by European observers for failing to meet democratic standards. Official results, expected to be released on Monday, are still being compiled and no confirmed trend has emerged from Sunday’s voting.
International athletes competing in a triathlon in Scotland later this month are to be insured for up to £1-million (R12-million) in case of an attack by Nessie, the legendary Loch Ness monster. An insurance company is providing the cover for more than 100 people who are taking part in the event being staged at Loch Ness.
Rand Water has managed to stop the water flow that flooded parts of Meredale in Johannesburg after a pipe burst early on Tuesday. Assessors are examining the extent of the problem and damage to surrounding houses. Emergency services have rescued 18 people, including a six-month-old baby, from about 50 houses.
Three more boys have died as a result of botched circumcisions in the Eastern Cape, bringing the death toll over the past few weeks to 12. Last week, the National House of Traditional Leaders called on the government to establish a special task force to deal with deaths in traditional initiation schools.
Take one unpopular president, a brace of struggling statesmen and a couple of global summits. Heat up a hoary national stereotype, leaven with wit, sit back and watch ”les rosbifs” simmer. Jacques Chirac stirred the pot at a meeting in Russia on Sunday when he joked to Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schröder that the British could not be trusted and worse food was only found in Finland.
China’s state television broadcasts were interrupted for nearly 15 minutes by a video about the banned Falun Gong spiritual group on Sunday evening. Falun Gong — which China has labeled an ”evil cult” and tried to suppress — denied tampering with the programming beamed across the country.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was flat in noon trade on Tuesday, having surrendered earlier gains in a late-morning sell-off. Dealers said that it had been a quiet morning on the local bourse, which had been mostly mixed and order driven. By 11.58am, the all-share index was flat at 14 310,69.
Coca-Cola has returned to Iraq after an absence of nearly four decades, triggering a cola war in a lucrative but potentially hostile market. Coke ended its 37-year exile last week by setting up a joint-venture bottling company to compete with Pepsi for 26-million consumers.