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/ 12 October 2006
If South African President Thabo Mbeki had met high-ranking executives of a French arms company — when he was still deputy president — that would not have been problematic, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Thursday. Asked why the president was himself not responding to the questions arising about this possible meeting, Erwin said he was ”sure the president will address that”.
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/ 12 October 2006
Chris Gayle smashed an attractive century as the West Indies stormed into the Champions Trophy main draw with a 10-wicket win over hapless Bangladesh in a qualifying match on Wednesday. The left-hander hit an unbeaten 104 for his 13th century and Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 52 not out as Brian Lara’s team made a mockery of Bangladesh’s total of 161, winning with 13.2 overs to spare.
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/ 12 October 2006
Footballing giant England’s so-called brave new world under Steve McClaren came to a shuddering halt on Wednesday as they were outplayed by Croatia, going down to a 2-0 defeat in their Euro 2008 qualifier. The only consolation for England fans bitter at the manner of their World Cup quarterfinal exit to Portugal was that the Portuguese were the other surprise losers on the night.
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/ 12 October 2006
A wage agreement between Shoprite Checkers employees and management has ended a three-month countrywide strike, the retail chain said on Thursday. The company concluded the strike with a three-year wage deal with the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union on Wednesday evening, said Callie Burger, the Shoprite group’s personnel director.
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/ 12 October 2006
National Blood Services Zimbabwe (NBSZ) has stopped blood supplies to hospitals after a generator at its complex went up in flames, Harare’s Herald newspaper reported on Thursday. Its website said the generator in Harare was used to power refrigerators, 14 cold rooms and laboratories. The damage to the generator meant staff at NBSZ were working manually.
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/ 12 October 2006
Global brewing giant SABMiller is to launch an innovative chocolate beer, brewed with six different malts, including a dark chocolate malt. The launch is in line with the group’s continuing efforts to develop its specialist beer portfolio. Under the name Frederick Miller Classic Chocolate Lager, the beer has been developed after extensive research by SABMiller’s United States subsidiary, Miller Brewing Company.
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/ 12 October 2006
When Microsoft launches its Zune to compete with Apple’s iPod, it won’t just be reversing its own strategies, but going against two decades of received wisdom. This could indicate a sea-change that will help more people get what they want. But it could also lead to users being increasingly locked into whichever systems they happen to buy.
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/ 12 October 2006
Notwithstanding a slightly firmer rand, the JSE was marginally firmer in quiet, sideways trade at noon on Thursday ahead of the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) interest rates decision due shortly after 3pm. Dealers said that until the MPC announcement, there was likely to be little movement in the market.
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/ 12 October 2006
South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said England’s success in their Ashes defence starting in Australia next month will depend on how they cope with the aggressive home crowds. The SA team complained racial taunts during their tour of Australia at the turn of the year that prompted the International Cricket Council to introduce a new code of conduct on racism and strict measures for spectators.
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/ 12 October 2006
If South Africa is to achieve the 6% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth as envisaged in the government’s economic plan, the gross national savings rate as a percentage of GDP needs to increase from the current 13% to 25%, says Paul Hanratty, managing director of Old Mutual.