Médécins sans Frontières (MSF) has expressed deep concern about overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions for thousands of Rwandan Hutus who have fled into Burundi fearing persecution at home. ”As each day passes, the situation is growing more precarious for these refugees,” MSF said.
Zimbabwe said Thursday it didn’t ask for and doesn’t need the food aid the United Nations has promised, insisting it can provide for its own people amid a mounting humanitarian crisis rooted in politics. The minister of social welfare said Zimbabwe has bought 1,2 tonnes of corn from South Africa.
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Schabir Shaik left the Durban High Court on Thursday following his conviction on two counts of corruption and one of fraud relating to alleged irregular financial dealings with Deputy President Jacob Zuma. A spokesperson for Zuma said the deputy president will study the judgement before commenting.
It is inevitable that poor countries will compete for donor aid, Tanzania’s President Benjamin Mkapa told delegates at the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Thursday. Steve Booysen, chief executive of Absa, said business has been slow to take advantage of the changing political landscape in Africa.
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Durban businessman Schabir Shaik was convicted in the Durban High Court on Thursday on two counts of corruption and one of fraud relating to alleged irregular financial dealings with Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
The JSE Securities Exchange moved to an all-time high on Thursday despite the steady rand, which has moved off its worst levels in a year. Resources remained the star performers. The all share index rose to a fresh high of 13,965.10 shortly after midday.
Visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki pushed on Wednesday for more United States economic aid to Africa and logistical support for African peacekeepers in Darfur in a meeting with US President George Bush. The United States has offered aircraft to transport African Union peacekeepers to Darfur, and has approached Nato for help as well.
A group of alleged mercenaries, recently released from Zimbabwe, will most likely have to spend time behind bars in South Africa, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Thursday. Spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said the NPA wants the Regulation of the Foreign Military Assistance Act to be enforced.
Hundreds of squatters packed their bags, dismantled their houses and left the Angelo informal settlement in Lilianton, Boksburg, on Wednesday night after a day of evictions. At the start of operations on Thursday, there was none of the resistance offered at the start of the evictions on Wednesday.
Nikolay Davydenko celebrated his 24th birthday a day early on Wednesday when he reached his first grand-slam semifinal with a dramatic 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Spain’s Tommy Robredo in a marathon French Open last-eight clash. The 12th-seeded Russian will now face Argentina’s unseeded Mariano Puerta.