Guardian editorial: Zimbabwe’s brutal clearances of thousands of slum dwellers from the country’s capital, Harare, might not top the league of human-rights abuses in Africa (as defendants of Robert Mugabe’s corrupt regime are quick to point out).
The Congress of South African Trade Unions’ general strike on Monday could be politically damaging for the federation while offering workers no tangible benefits, say analysts. ”Cosatu might be left with egg on its face if the strike is not well supported, and it could lose further support,” said Dr Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix.
Pornographic websites and their legions of fans will soon have their very own corner of cyberspace. The domain name extension ”xxx” has been approved by the California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), the organisation responsible for approving decisions about domain extensions.
In the face of mounting casualties and a growing threat of civil war in Iraq, George Bush on Saturday urged Americans to stay the course and insisted that he had a plan for eventual victory. In his weekly radio address, the president said: ”Our country has been tested before and we have a long history of resolve and faith in the cause of freedom. Now we will see that cause to victory in Iraq.”
Lions coach Clive Woodward has demanded action against All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and hooker Keven Mealamu after Lions skipper Brian O’Driscoll dislocated a collarbone in a crunching tackle early in the first rugby Test. The 3-21 loss to the All Blacks proved costly for the British and Irish Lions.
Jake White’s Springboks defied the odds and their critics with a hard-fought 27-13 victory over the French at the EPRU Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday afternoon.South Africa led 20-6 at the break. The win means the Boks clinch the two-Test series 1-0 after the first Test was drawn 30-all in Durban last weekend.
Jake White, the national rugby coach, has reportedly threatened to resign over selection issues. White is said to be frustrated with interference in his team selections from several quarters in SA Rugby and has reportedly issued an ultimatum.
Large field rats from Western Africa are being used in Mozambique to detect landmines that still threaten hundreds of thousands of people and hamper economic activity 13 years after the end of a brutal war that claimed up to one million lives.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have backed down from their threatened second round of strikes after talks with the new deputy president. South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported Cosatu as saying it was however too late for Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to stop the current round of mass action.
With a glazed look in her eyes, the bored production line worker dips her hand into a bag full of short and curlies, peels off a strip of double-sided transparent tape and applies the furry finishing touch to a plastic vagina. On the table behind, three young migrant workers from Hubei province are a picture of tedium as they fix studs and chains on a red rubber bondage outfit.