Free Republic

Farms seizure warning in South Africa By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi Last Updated: 2:30am BST 17/09/2007 Farmers in South Africa have been warned that they could have their land taken from them unless they stop "abusive" policies towards workers. Most highly productive farmland in South Africa is still in the hands of white farmers. While the government has enacted a "restitution" policy of handing plots to blacks under a willing buyer, willing seller system, critics have said progress has been too slow. While the situation is far from that witnessed in neighbouring Zimbabwe, tensions have soared recently over alleged illegal...

ADDIS ABABA : The African Union officially launched its Peace and Security Council (PSC), billed as a robust guarantor of stability on the continent, as the crisis in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region shaped up as a test of the scheme's credibility. Mozambique's President and AU Chairman Joaquim Chissano formally inaugurated the PSC, modelled on the UN Security Council, at a ceremony at the 53-member organisation's headquarters in Addis Ababa attended by the heads of state and government from at least eight countries. He said he hoped Africa's "crises and conflicts will be substantially reduced, if not eliminated, thanks to the...

PARLIAMENT exploded into a boxing ring on Tuesday when opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP Roy Bennett floored, then kicked out at two Cabinet Ministers Patrick Chinamasa and Didymus Mutasa. Bennett, speaking on Wednesday, refused to apologise but said it was "nothing to be proud of." Some Zanu PF legislators, brandishing pistols, threatened to shoot Bennett during the brawl which started off when Justice Minister Chinamasa said Charleswood Estate which is owned by Bennett, and situated in Chimanimani, would not be struck off the government’s acquisition list for land resettlement. Bennett Mutasa In a statement laden with racial overtones,...

<p>The Pentagon and State Department are planning to set up a 75,000-member international peacekeeping force for Africa, senior Bush administration officials told Congress yesterday.</p> <p>Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage disclosed the plan during a hearing of the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations.</p>