British Finance Minister Gordon Brown’s plan to increase aid for poor countries received a hefty boost recently when France and Britain agreed to raise billions of dollars for health and education by floating bonds on the world’s financial markets.
After weeks of behind-the-scenes haggling, Paris and London struck a compromise deal.
At last the battlelines have been drawn, and the first major fight over climate change is about to begin. All over Britain, a coalition of homeowners and anarchists, of Nimbys and internationalists, is mustering to fight the greatest future cause of global warming: the growth of aviation.
”On his triumphalist tour of this part of the world, where he hopes to wave imperiously at people he considers potential subjects, President George W Bush’s itinerary is getting curiouser and curiouser. For his March 2 pit stop in New Delhi, the Indian government tried very hard to have him address our Parliament,” writes Arundhati Roy.
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With purple ribbons, T-shirt and bumper sticker sales, street cordons, loud music and singing, the next leg of the Jacob Zuma rape trial will start on Monday. ”Yes, we are ready to go,” said Makhosini Nkosi, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority.
A San Francisco man with a knack for numbers has come up with a formula to help United States wine lovers figure out when a vintage is a bargain. QPR Wines compares critic reviews and retail price data to reveal which bottles are steals and which are rip-offs, according to its founder, Neil Monnens.
Tension reached fever pitch as Hollywood began the final countdown to Sunday’s Oscars, with a posse of ”serious” films, led by Brokeback Mountain, set to overrun the big night. As workers frantically put the finishing touches on preparations for the 78th annual Academy Awards, which start with the legendary red carpet celebrity fashion show, the anxious nominees are crossing their fingers.
The United Nations food agency on Saturday warned of an impending catastrophe if donors delay funding humanitarian programmes to feed at least 3,5-million Kenyans threatened by a prolonged drought. The agency has enough cereals to last until April, but will run out of the less important vegetable oil and pulses by month’s end, World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson Peter Smerdon said.
Three years ago Terry Pheto was living in a shack with a roof of corrugated iron, in a township just outside Johannesburg. Later on Sunday the young woman tipped as black South Africa’s first international female star will be on the red carpet for the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles at the end of a journey from crushing poverty to beckoning fame.
West Brom boss Bryan Robson has warned Barcelona to be prepared for the play-acting of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in Tuesday’s Champions League clash.
Jose Mourinho will take his side into their biggest game of the season in the Camp Nou with stinging criticism from Robson ringing in his ears after his 100th match in charge of Chelsea ended in acrimony.
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana on Saturday said he was pleased that farmers were agreeing with minimum wage legislation. He was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between organised labour, organised business and the Mpumalanga provincial government on bettering labour relations on and union access to farms.