Shortly before this past weekend’s world summit on children’s media in Johannesburg, the African National Congress (ANC) released a policy discussion document on media. This coincidence turned out to be a contrast — high hopes from the summit; a real let-down by the ruling party.
A Chicago woman is suing her dance partner, claiming he dropped her on her head after flipping her into the air at an office party. Lacey Hindman (22) was a victim of ”negligent dancing”, says her lawyer, David M Baum. ”I fell hard enough you could hear the impact of me hitting the floor over the sound from the jukebox,” Hindman said.
The Department of Environmental Affairs said it will appoint independent auditors to examine the circumstances around the sale by public auction of one of its marine patrol vessels for about R300Â 000. ”The audit will be completed this week,” department spokesperson Blessing Manale told the South African Press Association on Monday.
Millions of South Africans will take to the roads for the Easter holiday this month, but startlingly only about 40% of South African drivers have car insurance. Insurers pay out more than R7-billion a year as a result of car-related claims. About 70% of these claims are as a result of car accidents.
A Manhattan art gallery cancelled on Friday its Easter-season exhibit of a life-size chocolate sculpture depicting a naked Jesus, after an outcry by Roman Catholics. The sculpture My Sweet Lord by Cosimo Cavallaro was to have been exhibited for two hours each day next week in a street-level window of the Roger Smith Lab Gallery in Midtown Manhattan.
United States President George Bush on Saturday night called for the release of the 15 British sailors and royal marines being held by Iran, denouncing their capture as ”inexcusable behaviour”. Bush told a press conference at Camp David: ”Iran must give back the hostages. They’re innocent, they did nothing wrong.”
Australian swim officials huddled on Saturday to discuss a report that Ian Thorpe, the world record holder and Olympic champion, showed ”abnormal levels” of two banned substances in a doping test last year before he retired. Anti-doping officials in Australia threw out the case against Thorpe, one of the sport’s most recognisable athletes, for lack of scientific proof.
Southern African leaders called on Thursday for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe, flying in the face of a chorus of Western criticism of President Robert Mugabe’s regime. ”The extraordinary summit reaffirms its solidarity with the government and the people of Zimbabwe,” the leaders said.
South Africa’s insurance industry is waiting with bated breath as claims roll in for damage caused by the freak tides that hit the KwaZulu-Natal coast recently. More than 300km of the KwaZulu-Natal coastline needs to be reconstructed after it was devastated by 8m waves that struck in the early hours of March 19
The ANC is preparing to go to war with a new organisation that purports to be broadening the debate on subjects considered taboo in the 95-year-old liberation movement. The Progressive ANC Voters Network, which was founded by, among others, leader of the Treatment Action Campaign Zackie Achmat, has been rejected by the ANC as a cheap ploy by people with ulterior motives.