Tens of thousands of young girls and women have been raped or otherwise subjected to sexual violence during five years of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to an international investigation. Some of the victims were as young as three. Men and boys were similarly treated, the report by Human Rights Watch says.
Italians bade an emotional farewell on Monday to the senior intelligence officer killed by United States troops in Iraq last week as officials in Rome and Washington tried to dampen smouldering resentment over his death. Nicola Calipari was given a state funeral and his body was carried to Santa Maria degli Angeli church in Rome past a guard of honour.
Michael Jackson lay on a bed masturbating himself and a 13-year-old boy at the centre of child molestation charges against him, the boy’s younger brother told a court on Monday. The alleged victim’s younger brother told the jury that he had seen Jackson sexually molesting his brother on two occasions.
Prospects for an early withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon faded on Monday as the countries’ presidents agreed only a partial time-table which appeared to fall well short of international demands. A pullback to the eastern part of Lebanon will be completed by the end of this month but no date has been set for all the 14Â 000 Syrian troops to leave.
For years, they have been regarded as the world’s number one nation of fun-loving, pint-downing, party animals. But it seems they were pulling the wool over our eyes: Aussies spend more time asleep than anyone else on the planet. According to a survey of global sleeping habits, nearly a quarter of all Australians hit the sack before 10pm.
Biowatch South Africa won a major victory recently on access to information about genetically modified crops in South Africa. Pretoria High Court Acting Judge Eric Dunn granted Biowatch access to all its key requests for information — but in a surprising twist, he also ordered the environmental NGO to pay the legal costs of giant biotech multinational Monsanto.
South African Transport Workers’ Union spokesperson Abner Ramakgolo announced on Tuesday that following an agreement reached with employers, truck drivers have ended their strike and will resume work on Wednesday. The strike action that started on February 26 saw more than 30 000 truck drivers striking as a result of a snag in wage negotiations.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is not gloating. He could — but he prefers to appear magnanimous in what he hopes is victory. In an interview last week, he was handed a perfect opportunity to crow. He was talking about what he called ”the ripple of change” now spreading through the Middle East, the slow, but noticeable movement towards democracy in a region where that commodity has long been in short supply.
Hind el-Hinnawy shocked conservative Muslim Egypt when she publicly declared herself a single mum and launched a paternity suit. The man in the case, Ahmed el-Fishawy, hosted a television talk show offering advice to devout Muslim youth. They had met on the set of a comedy called When Daddy Returned. President Hosni Mubarak may have started a process of change he cannot stop.
The sons of famous men often struggle to make their mark. And Syria’s President, Bashar al-Assad, is struggling more than most as he contemplates the loss of Lebanon and his country’s increasing international isolation. While his father dominated Lebanon after first intervening in 1976 with United States connivance, Syria’s 14 000 troops and security forces now face a humiliating retreat under popular fire.