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Saturday, December 29, 2007File:JacobZuma.jpg

Corruption-related charges have been brought against Jacob Zuma, the newly-elected leader of the African National Congress (ANC), according to his lawyer. A trial is scheduled to begin on August 14, 2008.

The charges stem from an arms deal with a French company, which is alleged to have involved bribes and fraud. Zuma’s financial adviser at the time, Schabir Shaik, was convicted in 2005 of attempting to solicit a bribe of US$72,500 per year from the arms company on Zuma’s behalf and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Zuma was fired as deputy president in 2005 by South African President Thabo Mbeki due to the scandal.

Two-term ANC leader Mbeki recently lost an ANC leadership contest to Jacob Zuma, who garnered about 60 percent of delegate votes in his win.

Zuma had been charged with corruption in 2005, but the case was dismissed on procedural grounds. Michael Hulley, Zuma’s defence lawyer, indicated that they will strongly contest the new charges in court. Hulley also suggested that the South African government’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and its anti-organised crime division known as The Scorpions, have carried out a smear campaign against Zuma.

“These charges will be vigorously defended, in the context of the belief that the Scorpions (NPA) have acted wrongly and with improper motive calculated to discredit Mr. Zuma and ensure that he play no leadership role in the political future of our country,” said Michael Hulley in a statement.

Given that the ANC has been the governing party in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, it is likely that Jacob Zuma could become the next president after general elections in 2009. Zuma has said, however, that he would resign if he was found guilty by the courts.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Nelson Mandela has left hospital to return to his home in Johannesburg, in a critical condition, South African officials said on Sunday.

The 95-year-old anti-apartheid leader and former South African president has spent nearly three months in hospital for treatment of a recurring lung infection and has returned to his residence in Johannesburg where he will continue to recover.

A statement from the office of current South African president Jacob Zuma confirmed Mandela homecoming:

“His teams of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria.”

“His home has been reconfigured to allow him to receive intensive care there. The health care personal providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital.”

Several ambulances and TV crews gathered outside Mandela’s home in the Houghton suburb of Johannesburg on Sunday, where well-wishers gathered to pray for his recovery.

Mandela’s last public appearance was at the 2010 football World Cup, held in South Africa.

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Feel free to use the Wikimedia sites to solve our Wikinews crossword. Please do not fill it out online as it would spoil it for other people; print it out and fill it in at your own leisure!

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Monday, December 3, 2007

At Thanksgiving dinner David Shankbone told his white middle class family that he was to interview Reverend Al Sharpton that Saturday. The announcement caused an impassioned discussion about the civil rights leader’s work, the problems facing the black community and whether Sharpton helps or hurts his cause. Opinion was divided. “He’s an opportunist.” “He only stirs things up.” “Why do I always see his face when there’s a problem?”

Shankbone went to the National Action Network’s headquarters in Harlem with this Thanksgiving discussion to inform the conversation. Below is his interview with Al Sharpton on everything from Tawana Brawley, his purported feud with Barack Obama, criticism by influential African Americans such as Clarence Page, his experience running for President, to how he never expected he would see fifty (he is now 53). “People would say to me, ‘Now that I hear you, even if I disagree with you I don’t think you’re as bad as I thought,'” said Sharpton. “I would say, ‘Let me ask you a question: what was “bad as you thought”?’ And they couldn’t say. They don’t know why they think you’re bad, they just know you’re supposed to be bad because the right wing tells them you’re bad.”

Thursday, June 17, 2021

On Monday, during a state visit by the South Korean president to Austria, president Moon Jae-in said in a joint press conference with Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen, “If North Korea agrees, [we] will push proactively for cooperation on [COVID-19] vaccine supplies for it”.

Austrian President Van der Bellen agreed with Moon, speaking about united efforts of all countries to end the pandemic. He further said, “In case of any signal from North Korea [for requesting help], we will of course help.”

The status of COVID-19 in North Korea is unknown, as the regime still claims to have no case of the virus, a claim many foreign observers qualify as untrue. In an article by Daily NK, North Korean military authorities are reportedly “scrambling” to secure any doses of any vaccine to inoculate their military in a “military-first” effort, with multiple sources claiming up to 25% of the military has been placed in quarantine.

In the same article, Chinese medical supplies have reportedly been banned from use in Pyongyang hospitals after the death of an official who had received an injection of Chinese-made medicine. The exclusion of Chinese medicine may have also been applied to Chinese-made vaccines, such as the ones made by Sinovac and Sinopharm, furthered the article.

The visit was the first of its kind, as president Moon is the first South Korean president to make a state visit to Austria since the countries first opened diplomatic relations in 1892. Relations between the two countries will mark their 130th anniversary next year.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

The sale of the BBC subsidiary BBC Resources Ltd., has hit a hurdle after it emerged that the BBC could be left with a loss of up to £15 million on the deal. The cost of transferring the pensions of BBC Resources staff from the BBC pension scheme to its new owners could be up to £50 million according to a Guardian Newspaper report.

Managers from the division will meet with union representatives from BECTU on Monday to discuss this and related sale issues. BECTU general secretary, Gerry Morrissey is quoted as saying: “If the BBC gets less than £50 million for BBC Resources then how can it fulfil [sic] its duty of care to licence fee payers?”

It is believed that the BBC had hoped that a surplus in its pension fund could be used to bridge the possible £50 million gap — but the trustees of the fund have said “no”. A BBC source said: “This is being discussed at the highest level”.

Since April 2004 members of the BBC pension scheme have seen their contributions into it increase regularly, the BBC — like many other employers — having reduced its contribution (to 4.5% of payroll) over a ten year period when the stock market was booming in the 1990s.

The Guardian is seen as a reliable source on BBC matters, having reported the proposed sale of BBC Television Centre back in January 2007, with the formal announcement finally being made by BBC Director General Mark Thompson on October 18, 2007.

The Resources business-to-business unit was formed in 1998 and operates television studios, post-production and outside broadcast facilities for it’s parent share-holding company, the BBC. It does not own any studios or premises, its assets being staff and equipment.

Advertised for sale on 16th August in the Financial Times, The Times and Broadcast and last year making profits of £5.2 million with a revenue of £126 million, the disposal — led by Ernst & Young — invited expressions of interest for the whole division or for each of its three operations separately. The BBC has yet to release the names of the short-listed companies.

BBC Resources was the first of the BBC’s commercial business-to-business divisions to be set up as a limited company and will be the last to be sold, the BBC having previously divested itself of BBC Technology and BBC Broadcast — BBC Worldwide, formerly BBC Enterprises, will remain in-house as it earns revenue from the archive, media and licensing of products — in the year to 31 March 2007 Worldwide had a turnover of £810.4 million, generating profits of £111 million.

The BBC wants to use any money raised to be put into international commercial expansion and content, most probably through Worldwide.

It had been intended to float Resources back in 2005, but this was postponed for two years following strike action and ACAS talks in June 2005 — the BBC giving an undertaking that there would be no preparations made to sell the company until January 2007, and no sale allowed before July of this year. The current time-scale would see its disposal by the end of the current financial year in March 2008.

Monday, July 19, 2010

A person has died after being involved in a collision between a bus and a bicycle in Hampshire in the south of England, United Kingdom. The woman, who has not been publicly identified, was cycling in the seaside resort of Southsea when a number 700 Stagecoach single-decker bus, which was travelling from Brighton to Southsea, collided with her bicycle at approximately 1315 BST (1215 UTC) on Saturday. A helicopter transported the woman to Southampton General Hospital, where she died at approximately 1630 BST (1530 UTC) on the same day.

None of the occupants of the bus were injured. The 53-year-old bus driver has now been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. Hampshire Constabulary is requesting any witnesses to the accident to contact them. PC Phil Hunt also mentioned: “We are also trying to trace the passengers, who left the scene before we could speak to them.”

The road traffic accident occurred in an area where Portsmouth City Council had been intending to place a new cycle route, but the plans to do so were cancelled last week. The plans, which would have cost £250,000 (US$382,373, €296,481, A$441,126), were said to have been cancelled due to financial difficulties.

Portsmouth Cycle Forum vice chair Jon Spencer has stated: “Sadly, we’ve had to wait less than a week for a brutal illustration of why we need this cycle route.” The vice chair of the local cycling group continued: “The road at Clarence Pier is very narrow, very crowded by parked cars and very busy. It is the most popular part of the seafront but at the moment it is a no-go area for cyclists. The city council are obviously happy for this to remain the case.”

John Holland, the chair of the Forum, wrote on PompeyBUG, a local cycling Internet forum: “Portsmouth Cycle Forum is very sad to learn of the death in a road accident of a woman cyclist at Clarence Esplanade on Saturday 17 July. Our thoughts lie with her family and friends to whom send our deepest condolences. The cyclist was involved in collision with a bus in the vicinity of Pier Road and Clarence Esplanade, close to Clarence Pier.

“This terrible accident is yet another reminder that large vehicles, busy traffic and cyclists are not a happy mix. Whilst it will be some time before the details are made public, we urge the Portsmouth City Council to press ahead with making this section of our seafront much safer and calmer for all. Almost exactly one year ago, a cyclist was seriously injured Clarence Esplanade when a car reversed blindly from a parking bay into the road.

“Portsmouth City Council is on the verge of postponing Phase 2 of the Southsea Seafront Cycle Route. Had this been in place yesterday then this awful incident might have been avoided. We urge councillors to think again. A safe and segregated cycle route can be built – one which doesn’t loose any car parking, one which doesn’t stop people looking out to sea from their cars, one which doesn’t involve cycling on the promenade. We will be pushing hard for this – we don’t want any more injuries and fatalities on our seafront roads.”