No image available
/ 23 February 2006
The unit at the Koeberg nuclear power station that tripped at the weekend, precipitating rolling power cuts in the Western Cape, could be back on stream earlier than predicted, Eskom chief executive Thulani Gcabashe said on Thursday. He said the reactivation of the unit was running roughly twelve hours ahead of schedule.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
South Africa’s Coastal Sharks will use a secret weapon as they try to reverse a wretched playing record in New Zealand against reigning champions Canterbury Crusaders in Super 14 rugby action on Saturday. The weapon is former All Blacks fly-half Tony Brown, who played 19 Tests and 83 Super 12 matches for the Otago Highlanders.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
South Africa’s producer price index (PPI) rose by 5,5% year-on-year (y/y) in January from a 5,1% y/y increase in December, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. The PPI declined by 0,1% on a monthly basis after December’s monthly increase of 0,1%. The PPI was expected to have risen by 5,8% y/y, according to an I-Net Bridge survey of economists.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
Iraq’s political and religious leaders were engaged in a desperate effort on Wednesday night to stop the country from sliding into civil war after a huge bomb shattered the golden-domed mosque in the city of Samarra, one of Shia Islam’s most revered sites.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
The resistance Khutsong residents were showing towards incorporation into North West was often the result of genuine misunderstanding, African National Congress president Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday. He told Metro FM listeners that party chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota had briefed him on his visit there at the weekend.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
An Australian businessman who faked his own death nearly six years ago in an attempt to cash in a 3,5-million Australian dollar ($2,5-million) life insurance policy was jailed on Thursday for 15 months. Harry Gordon (56) who was declared officially dead after an apparent boating accident but never received the money, was also ordered to compensate police Aus$22 000 for the costs of searching for him.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
China warned outspoken Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen on Thursday not to mix politics and religion, after Pope Benedict XVI named him a cardinal. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao also said Beijing’s position on refraining from establishing diplomatic ties with Rome had not changed because of the appointment.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
A searing drought that has put at least 11-million people across East Africa on the brink of starvation risks turning into a catastrophe if donors fail to respond quickly to the situation, an aid agency warned on Thursday. With drought-related human deaths already reported in Kenya and Somalia, cattle, camels and donkeys are also dying at an alarming rate in some areas.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
South Africa’s Competition Tribunal on Thursday blocked the merger between Sasol — the country’s largest producer of refined white fuels and Engen, the country’s largest retailer of fuel products. The merged entity would have enjoyed a near monopoly of refinery capacity and a considerable retail market share in the inland market, the tribunal said.
No image available
/ 23 February 2006
England received a major scare on Thursday when captain Michael Vaughan was forced to miss a first-class match on the India tour due to a knee injury. Vaughan experienced pain and soreness in his right knee, which was operated on in December, and was rested for Thursday’s three-day match against the Indian Board President’s XI team.