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/ 20 February 2008
Australia’s postal service has increased the maximum weight for its delivery staff after struggling to attract applicants weighing less than 90kg, local media reported on Tuesday. The old limit was designed to allow "posties", as they are known here, to carry 40kg of mail on their small motorcycles for a total load of 130kg.
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/ 20 February 2008
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd revealed on Wednesday that he is battling the bulge, while his deputy, Julia Gillard, was stunned to be voted one of the country’s sexiest women. Rudd said it is difficult to maintain a fitness regime while coping with the responsibilities of office.
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/ 20 February 2008
A group of Chinese alcohol producers is trying to overturn a ban on government officials enjoying a lunchtime tipple that has seen a fall in restaurant trade, state media reported on Wednesday. Officials in several cities in central Henan province were banned from drinking during their lunch break in an effort to improve government efficiency.
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/ 20 February 2008
North Korea has been trying to ease American fears of a secret atomic weapons programme and also denies sharing nuclear technology with other countries, said the United States pointman. Christopher Hill said the North has been trying to show that equipment it purchased was not for use in a covert uranium enrichment programme.
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/ 20 February 2008
African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), South Africa’s second-largest black-owned mining group, said first-half earnings rose 34% as it enjoyed booming commodity prices and achieved record output. ARM said headline earnings per share climbed to 353 cents in the latter half of 2007.
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/ 20 February 2008
Eskom is not as concerned about the domestic availability of sufficient coal as it is with the speed at which it could be mined, <i>Business Day</i> reported on Wednesday. The national power utility is also worried about logistical problems in transporting the coal to power stations.
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/ 20 February 2008
Former Absa CEO and chairperson Dr Danie Cronje has been appointed as the independent non-executive chairperson of Sappi, the global pulp and paper group announced on Wednesday. He succeeds Eugene van As, whose impending retirement as chairperson and from the board was announced earlier.
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/ 20 February 2008
The first microbicide to reach the final phase of testing has failed to prevent HIV transmission, researchers announced this week.
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/ 20 February 2008
Classes were still suspended at three Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) campuses on Wednesday amid meetings to resolve matters, said a university spokesperson. The university suspended all lectures on all three campuses on Tuesday following ongoing violent protests over fee hikes and academic exclusion.
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/ 20 February 2008
The JSE recovered some of its earlier losses by midday on Wednesday, as gold and resource stocks started to lift the market despite the negative global sentiment. Higher oil prices overnight spurred inflation worries among world markets, after oil closed above $100, prompting a global sell off in equities.