THURSDAY, 1.15PM: DEVELOPING nations are expected to ask the World Trade Organisation for technical assistance in meeting their trade obligations, at the 50th anniversary of the organisation next week. President Nelson Mandela is joining United States President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, European Commission head Jacques Santer, and Switzerland’s Flavio Cotti, to celebrate […]
CABINET decisions on Wednesday included the approval of a notice exempting money-lending transactions up to R10000 from the provisions of the Usury Act, if they had a loan term of less than 36 months. This could be bad news for borrowers at the low end of the credit scale, who may face upnitive interest rates […]
CD of the week David Shapshak Kaolin Thomson could well be the next Alanis Morissette. It’s quite an accolade but it’s quite deserved. The multi-talented 22-year-old has all the attributes of stardom: she has a syrupy voice with an incredible range, plays the flute, sax, keyboards and percussion, and is drop-dead gorgeous. Being 1,8 metres […]
Howard Barrell The row over the Financial Mail’s endorsement last week of the United Democratic Movement in the forthcoming election has brought into sharp relief the relationship between editorial independence and media ownership in South Africa. This week’s Financial Mail carries a lengthy rebuttal of the endorsement by one of the publication’s co-owners, former African […]
A TEAM of French firefighters headed to Cote d’Ivoire’s economic capital on Friday to help control a gigantic blaze that threatening oil stocks near west Africa’s biggest refinery. A vast column of black smoke billowed over Abidjan as flames 12m continued to rage from GESTOCI, the oil stocks plant immediately next to the refinery. Late […]
UGANDA’S central bank has injected $10-million into the country’s forex market in a bid to increase the relative value of the weakening shilling, officials confirmed on Friday. Central bank spokesman Walugembe Musoke said the bank sold $10-million on Thursday through commercial banks in attempt to reduce the dollar rate, which currently stands at slightly more […]
Cameron Duodu Letter from the North The refrain which the Chinese used to chant in the Sixties and Seventies – “the United States imperialists are paper tigers” – seemed a bit unrealistic. After all, the US had the most powerful nuclear weapons on earth. It also had a vast arsenal of conventional weapons, which could […]
On Monday the government’s security of tenure legislation will be put to the test in Ceres, the fruit-growing valley between the mountains known for its soft fruit and juice industries in the Western Cape. It’s the first time in the area that farm workers are fighting their eviction. Martha Goliath is sitting in a tiny […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 4.00pm. GIVEN their respective places on the Super 12 log, Saturday’s match between the Stormers and the Cats shouldn’t be a big deal. Additionally, the Stormers are virtually unbeatable at home and the match is at Newlands. And yet the game has attracted massive attention. Cats coach Andre Markgraaff […]
Howard Barrell Morale in Luanda, capital of war-torn Angola is at an all-time low, with food shortages now being experienced since the army started commandeering civilian supplies. Forces of the rebel Unita movement, led by Jonas Savimbi, are encamped to the south and east of the capital, within 100km range. This is causing growing fears […]