The South African Broadcasting Corporation board failed in a court bid on Monday to appeal against the reinstatement of chief executive Dali Mpofu. The Johannesburg High Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal against an earlier ruling that the suspension of Mpofu was unlawful.
Threats of retaliation against South Africans in other countries for the recent spate of xenophobic attacks have been overplayed, the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Aziz Pahad, said on Monday. Speaking ahead of the state visit by Nigeria’s President Umaru Yar’Adua, he said the attacks on foreigners would be on the agenda.
Shortages of bread in Zimbabwe are expected to worsen after preparations for the country’s winter wheat crop failed, state media said on Monday. The state-controlled daily Herald said that farmers planted 8 963 hectares of wheat this winter, only 13% of a government target of 70 000 hectares.
South Africa’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 49,1 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis from 54,1 in April, pressured by weak new sales orders and higher production costs. The index, a measure of underlying manufacturing activity, was below the key 50 level that signals expansion.
Iran’s president said on Monday Israel would soon disappear off the map and that the ”satanic power” of the United States faced destruction, in his latest verbal attack on the Islamic Republic’s arch-foes. Opposition to Israel is a fundamental principle in Shi’ite Muslim Iran, which backs Palestinian militants opposed to peace.
Zimbabwean police have arrested at least 70 suspects following attacks on liberation war veterans and ruling-party activists in the Buhera district, a state daily reported on Monday. ”So far more than 70 suspects have been arrested in connection with the cases,” police Deputy Commissioner General Levy Sibanda was quoted as saying by the Herald.
Wearing his trademark Cheetah blades, South African double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius won the 100m and 400m races at a Dutch Paralympic meet on Sunday. Pistorius, who hopes to run the 400m at the Beijing Olympics, won with a time of 47,92 at the Dutch Open, a day after coming first in the 200m.
Warren Gatland has opted for experienced flyhalf Stephen Jones over James Hook to spearhead Wales’ assault on world champions South Africa in their opening Test in Bloemfontein on Saturday. Jones made his Test debut in Wales’ record 96-13 defeat to the Springboks in 1998 and is embarking on his third tour of South Africa.
Nominal and real house-price growth slowed further in the first quarter of 2008, according to the latest Absa housing review. The slowdown in growth was largely as a result of the tightening of monetary policy, stricter requirements for credit extension, and less affordable housing.
Telecommunications heavyweight Telkom remained the talk of the town during the morning session on Monday as news of a potential buyout and negotiations with the UK’s Vodafone set pulses racing. However, the market as a whole was mixed as resources generally gained some ground, but banks felt the heat from a struggling
sector in the United Kingdom.