Shocked workers at a furniture factory desperately battled a fire in a four-storey building in central Johannesburg on Wednesday before they were forced to flee the building. Emergency services rushed to the scene and firefighters spent about 45 minutes getting the fire under control. Nobody was reported injured.
A proposed fuel levy in the Western Cape of 10 cents a litre will not have the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) support, unless there is clarity on where the money will go, party spokesperson Eric Lucas said on Wednesday. ”For the IFP there are a lot of questions surrounding this proposed fuel increase,” he said.
A Potchefstroom councillor has opened a case of harassment after receiving a barrage of insulting and derogatory text messages following a radio interview on renaming the city. Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Piet Du Plessis on Wednesday confirmed that a case of harassment had been opened by African National Congress councillor Ina Stoltz.
At least two people will share a -million (R2,7-billion) lottery jackpot in the United States, officials said on Wednesday after the record prize drew in millions of players across the country. ”Right now we know there are two winning tickets: one in the state of New Jersey, one in the state of Georgia,” an Ohio Lottery Commission spokesperson said.
The government’s proposed elephant-management regulations could hobble South Africa’s ”notorious” elephant-back tourism industry, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said on Wednesday. The draft rules propose stopping the capture from the wild of anything other than genuine orphan elephant calves.
Investment management firm Allan Gray has sold off just under 19% of its shareholding in a black economic empowerment (BEE) deal, the company announced on Wednesday. It also said the firm’s founder, Allan Gray, had donated R1,1-billion from the sale to support initiatives that include comprehensive funding for university students wanting to become entrepreneurs.
Fifty out of 85 construction employers were found to be violating workplace safety regulations during an on-site crackdown by labour inspectors in the Eastern Cape, the Labour Department said on Wednesday. Department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said seven construction sites had been shut down and an additional 48 contravention notices were served.
Gold production in South Africa slumped by 7,5% last year, hitting its lowest level since 1922, according to figures released by the Chamber of Mines on Wednesday. Total production in 2006 was put at 275Â 119kg, the lowest level since a strike 84 years ago reduced production to 218Â 031kg, the chamber said in a statement.
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Pakistan and South African players were involved in what is believed to be a fire scare and had to file out of their Hilton hotel in Port of Spain early on Wednesday as they were having breakfast. Irish and Canadian players, however, were not among those who had to leave the premises, having already left for practice.
Press freedom improved in Mozambique in 2006 as compared with previous years, a new human rights report has found, Vista News said on Wednesday. The report, released on Wednesday in Maputo, said that while media institutions reported that freedom of speech and the press had improved, police continued to harass journalists in 2006.