African Briefs

Body of Malawi’s ex-leader home Saturday
BLANTYRE – The remains of Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika will return from South Africa on Saturday where they were taken secretly to be embalmed, a foreign ministry official said yesterday.

Mutharika’s body was airlifted to South Africa after he suffered a fatal heart attack on April 5.His body was initially expected to return on Thursday, but the official, who did not want to be identified, said: ‘I can confirm that it is now Saturday.’ No reasons were given for the postponement.Supporters will be able to view his body in Blantyre, the capital Lilongwe and the northern town of Mzuzu.The burial will take place on April 23 in Thyolo district outside Blantyre.S Sudanese must prepare defenceJUBA – South Sudan’s parliament speaker urged lawmakers yesterday to mobilise the people to defend the fledgling nation in case of all-out attack by Sudan, as battle raged along their contested border.’Khartoum might be meaning a real war… If you don’t defend yourself you will be finished, so you should go and mobilise the people on (the) ground to be ready,’ Speaker James Wani Igga told parliament.Fierce fighting continued yesterday as Sudanese warplanes bombed contested regions on the border with South Sudan, the second day of violence in the oil-rich region.In Khartoum, Sudan’s parliament yesterday called a halt to African Union-led negotiations with Juba over their protracted dispute over oil, border demarcation, contested areas and citizenship issues.Thousand teachers miss 1st day of classJOHANNESBURG – Over 1 000 teachers did not arrive for the start of the second school term on Tuesday, pleading exhaustion after a sports day, according to a report yesterday.The Professional Educators’ Union (PEU) sent a letter to schools informing them that some of their staff would be too tired to work because they had attended the Annual Association of Teachers’ Unions of Southern Africa Games in Windhoek, Namibia, The Star newspaper reported.’Owing to fatigue and exhaustion due to long travelling distances from Windhoek to South Africa, the union applied for time off for members, who will be unable to report for duty on April 10, 2012,’ the union wrote.The games included sports such as soccer, netball and volleyball.