Lava started to spew from the Chaitén volcano in southern Chile on Tuesday prompting authorities to order the evacuation of all remaining residents in a nearby town. The volcano began erupting on Friday, sending a huge plume of ash into the sky that later coated the surrounding area and reached as far as Argentina.
Many Africans are getting substandard malaria drugs, with more than a third of the pills tested failing quality tests. Tests of 195 different packs of malaria drugs sold in six African cities showed 35% of them either did not contain high enough levels of active ingredient or did not dissolve properly.
China opened the world’s longest cross-sea bridge last week aiming to cut travel time between two major ports, but hundreds of drivers have been fined already for, unexpectedly, driving too slow to enjoy the view. The 36km structure spans Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang and is designed to slash travel time between its port city of Ningbo and the financial hub Shanghai.
A Rio de Janeiro tour company could be in trouble for giving tourists too intimate a view of life in the city’s notorious slums, including photo opportunities with drug gang leaders. The Brazilian city’s tourism chief said on Monday that the company, Private Tours, could be stripped of its licence.
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Lawmakers on Tuesday debated legislation to remove former South African president Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) from an apartheid-era United States terrorist blacklist. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, recalled that ANC members could travel to United Nations headquarters in New York but not to Washington DC or other parts of the United States.
Cement maker PPC increased first-half headline earnings per share by 16% as infrastructure and affordable housing projects drove cement demand, the company said on Wednesday. PPC reported headline EPS of 126 cents and a 9% increase in operating profit to R1,077-billion.
Hillary Clinton’s hopes of winning the race for the Democratic nomination for president are dwindling after she failed on Wednesday to close the gap on Barack Obama in two key primaries. She won the Indiana primary but saw that outweighed by his win in North Carolina.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Group CEO Dali Mpofu has been suspended, the public broadcaster’s board announced on Wednesday. The board said the allegations levelled against Mpofu ”include an alleged refusal and/or failure to abide and implement decisions of the board”. This follows the suspension of group executive of news and current affairs, Snuki Zikalala.
Nedbank increased first-quarter net interest income by 21,9% to R3,87-billion but said it expected slower first-half earnings growth. Shares in Nedbank stood 1,59% down at R111,50 by 7.18am GMT on Wednesday, underperforming the JSE Securities Exchange’s Top-40 index which was 0,27% weaker.