If you’re buying on credit at your friendly filling station you have to take two credit cards with you, one for fuel and one for the other stuff. So sensitive were the authorities in the past to the spectre of discounted petrol, that a whole separate credit card had to be issued just to ensure there was no discounting.
A total of 1,000 journalists were killed between January 1996 and June 2006, according to a study released by the International News Safety Institute (INSI) this week. “Nine out of 10 murderers in the past decade have never been prosecuted- This is the most shocking fact at the heart of the inquiry,” says Richard Sambrook, BBC global news director and chairman of the INSI study.
Gautengers rejoice, your cost of living is in the bottom quartile of 135 cities surveyed by <i>The Economist</i>. Johannesburg and Pretoria are ranked 100th in a survey of the world’s most expensive cities, having dropped 23 places since last year. This is according to the Worldwide Cost of Living survey, released by <i>The Economist</i> intelligence unit.
When North West Premier Edna Molewa went walkabout in Khutsong two weeks ago she was sworn at by residents who told her to bring back Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa. She was welcomed by only a few residents, particularly those invested in the system.
African National Congress (ANC) alliance partner the Congress of South African Teade Unions (Cosatu) has announced a radical strategy aimed at changing the ANC’s leadership and overall policy direction. Cosatu has also warned that it may not endorse the ANC in the next election if the ruling party does not deliver results for workers.
An estimated 4,2-million unsafe abortions are performed each year in Africa and 30 000 women die as a result, a seminar heard on Thursday. ”Tens of millions of women of reproduction age in Africa today will experience an unsafe abortion in their lifetime,” said Liz Maguire, president of Ipas — an international NGO that promotes women’s health.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions on Thursday joined the South African Communist Party in condemning the ”lenient” action taken against South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) head of news Snuki Zikalala over the controversial blacklisting issue.
Unanswered questions remain following the brouhaha after the <i>Sunday Times</i> again found that banned industrial chemical dyes in certain chilli condiments.
The Cape Town city council on Thursday afternoon approved a R2,9-billion budget for its 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium at Green Point. The approval brings to an end most of the uncertainty that has surrounded the funding of the 68Â 000-seater structure, destined to host a semifinal.
President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday officially welcomed five diplomats appointed to represent their respective countries in South Africa. The diplomats are from the republics of India, Seychelles and Suriname, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Sultanate of Oman.