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/ 23 January 2008
The South African Rail Commuter Corporation will reintroduce trains on the Mabopane-Pretoria and De Welt-Pretoria lines in two weeks’ time, it announced on Wednesday. Six Metrorail motor coaches and 18 trailer coaches were destroyed last Friday after they were torched by angry commuters at four stations.
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/ 23 January 2008
More than three million tax returns were filed in the 2007 filing season, the South African Revenue Service said on Wednesday. Taxpayers have eight days left to submit tax returns but this can only be done electronically. Outstanding tax returns must be submitted by January 31 to avoid penalties.
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/ 23 January 2008
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party was given permission on Wednesday to stage a protest rally against President Robert Mugabe after its leader Morgan Tsvangirai was briefly detained by police. Police had slapped a blanket prohibition on the protest called by the Movement for Democratic (MDC) as a show of strength.
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/ 23 January 2008
The European Union’s executive adopted landmark proposals on Wednesday that will make the 27-nation bloc a world leader in the fight against climate change, but trade-offs will include higher energy bills. The European Commission approved detailed plans to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by one-fifth and set each EU state individual targets.
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/ 23 January 2008
Actor Heath Ledger was found dead at a Manhattan apartment, naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby, police said. He was 28. Ledger, who moved to the United States at age 19, quickly turned away from typical teen films and instead started to build a career on more challenging roles.
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/ 23 January 2008
Hard labour for hardened convicts was one of the proposals presented at the launch of the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) Purpose, Vision and Values Programme in Durban on Wednesday. Addressing the issue of crime in the country, the IFP’s Stan Larkan told the more than 3 000 delegates that ”hard labour needs to be introduced”.
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/ 23 January 2008
Police fired tear gas to disperse anti-government youths throwing rocks and taunting them at a memorial service on Wednesday organised by the opposition for people killed in an election protest crackdown. The latest trouble came as former United Nations chief Kofi Annan was to begin talks with President Mwai Kibaki and opposition challenger Raila Odinga.
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/ 23 January 2008
Roger Federer was at his dominant best on Wednesday to book a place in the Australian Open semifinals as Ana Ivanovic brought Venus Williams’s tournament to a juddering halt. The Swiss ace kept his cool in two close-fought sets against 12th seeded American James Blake before running away a 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 winner.
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/ 23 January 2008
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Wednesday he had given his security forces orders to let Palestinians in from Gaza to buy food and then return home. ”I told them: ‘Let them come in to eat and buy food’, then they go back, as long as they are not carrying weapons,” Mubarak told reporters at a Cairo book fair.
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/ 23 January 2008
The number of black buyers of vehicles has doubled in the past five years, making up 34% of South Africa’s largest vehicle lender Wesbank’s book from 17% in 2003, it said on Wednesday. However, Wesbank painted a grim picture for the vehicle market in the next 12 months.