adminEgypt holds third round of elections
Egyptians flocked to the polls for the third round of the country’s parliamentary election, the first election since the uprising that unseated Hosni Mubarak from the presidency in February last year.
Queues began to form around schools that had been turned into polling stations at 8am local time (06:00 GMT) yesterday. Al Jazeera’s correspondents in El-Arish and Shubra El-Khaima reported good voter turnouts.
The final round takes place over two days in the Nile Delta provinces of Qaliubiya, Gharbiya and Daqahliya; the New Valley province; the southern governorates of Minya and Qena; the border province of Matruh; and in North and South Sinai.
SA assumes presidency of UN Security Council
CAPE TOWN — South Africa has taken up the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for January 2012, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said yesterday.
“Consistent with the practice of the UNSC, the office of the president of the Security Council rotates monthly among its members on the basis of the English alphabetical order, and the council is organised to be able to function continuously,” the department said in a statement published by I-Net Bridge, a local news outlet.
Libya celebrates independence day
TRIPOLI — Libya marked its 60th anniversary of independence on Saturday, reviving a celebration that has been scrapped for more than 40 years.
Prime Minister Abdul al-Raheem al-Keib said at the ceremony that the transitional government would provide nationals, especially soldiers involved in the fight to end Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, with more job opportunities.
Four injured in armed clash in Tripoli
TRIPOLI — Four people were injured when armed factions exchanged gunfire in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, witnesses said.
Sarkozy demands Assad quit
DAMASCUS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy demanded Syria’s Bashar al-Assad step down for overseeing “disgusting” massacres against his own people, as an Arab observer mission came in for more flak yesterday.
Mayor urges business to restrategise
Business Reporter
A LOT still needs to be done for the revival of local industries as capacity utilisation is still below 50 percent, the Mayor of Bulawayo Councillor Thaba Moyo has said.
Many companies ended the year operating at between 40 and 45 percent.
Zimbabwe to go digital by 2015
Business Reporter
THE Ministry of Information Communication Technology (ICT) intends to digitalise the whole of Zimbabwe by 2015, Minister Nelson Chamisa has revealed.
Diamond prices to remain firm
Diamond prices on international markets are forecast to remain firm over the next four years, The Economic Times, a specialist commodity publication, has predicted.
The forecast is likely to translate to Zimbabwe’s annual earnings from diamonds exceeding $2 billion.
International cotton prices drop
International cotton price monitor Cotlook Limited says the price of the commodity has dropped to about $0,87 per pound from around $1,30 in April last year due to huge stocks and decrease in demand.
One kilogramme is approximately 2,20 pounds.
Locals dominate ICT sector
Indigenous Zimbabweans now dominate the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector controlling 97 percent, up from 40 percent in the 1990s, an official has said.
In the past the sector was a preserve of foreigners as few blacks had access to capital to start businesses.