Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota and his counterparts from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region had an unscheduled meeting in Cape Town on Tuesday to discuss growing tensions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ”It is a short agenda with momentous consequences,” Lekota said.
Forecasters sounded an alert on Tuesday over a cyclone heading for Australia’s coast with wind gusts up to 290kph, saying that if the storm strikes a town directly it could be more destructive than one that killed 65 people three decades ago. The storm is ”a very serious threat” to coastal and island communities between the Lockhart River and Port Douglas.
Police on Tanzania’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar have arrested 18 people in connection with weekend political violence that left more than two dozen people injured, officials said on Tuesday. According to witnesses, about 100 police officers overnight on Monday raided homes of people suspected of involvement in Sunday’s rioting.
Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab and British-based BAE Systems exaggerated planned offset investments in order to sell their aircraft to South Africa, Swedish radio said on Monday. The public broadcaster said it had analysed the number of investments pledged by the companies, but found that most of them never came to fruition.
”A great silver pipe in the sky runs above the heads of the residents of Dainfern, a walled fortress-suburb in northern Johannesburg. Set among fields, nature trails and wooded suburbs, it is, inch-for-inch, probably the most costly, secure space in Africa. And one of the most successful.” South African émigré novelist Christopher Hope sees the future of South Africa in this heavily fortified fantasy village.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney are reportedly being investigated by the Football Association (FA) for their behaviour during Manchester United’s goalless draw at Crystal Palace. It has emerged the FA will also scrutinise Rooney’s conduct after the final whistle, when he had to be restrained during a confrontation with referee Mark Clattenburg.
Jack Nicklaus had planned to squeeze in a few trips to Augusta National this month, making sure his 65-year-old body was fit and his game was good enough to compete in the Masters. Now, the Masters is the last thing on his mind. Nicklaus said his chances of playing the Masters are ”between slim and none,” although he plans to be at Augusta National for the Champions Dinner.
The JSE Securities Exchange was firmer in noon trade on Tuesday after a stock specific morning. The bourse’s gains came despite a stronger rand. By 11.56am, the all share index was up 0,45%. Resources rallied 0,77%, with the gold and platinum mining indices gaining 1,06% and 0,99% respectively.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) on Monday criticised the South African government for not being vocal enough about the Zimbabwe government’s clampdown on the independent media, warning that the country’s upcoming elections won’t be free.
South African transport parastal Transnet and mining group Kumba Resources on Monday announced that they had signed a new iron ore contract and had agreed on the expansion of Transnet’s rail and port infrastructure to allow Kumba to expand its iron ore output by 10-million tonnes by 2009.