The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Oregon has become the first in the United States to file for bankruptcy protection in response to increasing accusations of priestly sexual abuse of children and the prospect of more multimillion-dollar settlements to add to the -million it has already had to pay out.
The South African rand was expected to test the key psychological six per dollar level on Thursday as it continued to rally on the back of offshore demand for the local unit. At 08h49, the rand was quoted at its best level since January 7, 2000, of 6,0451 per dollar from an overnight close of 6,10 on Wednesday and 6,2876 on Tuesday.
The South African Parliament has welcomed the decision by the African Union to make South Africa the permanent seat of the Pan-African Parliament. ”We shall work hard to make the institution serve its purposes as a true African Parliament,” Speaker Baleka Mbete said in a statement on Thursday.
The mandatory death penalty for murder in Jamaica was abolished on Wednesday, winning a reprieve for more than 60 prisoners on death row, in a historic judgement from nine judges sitting in London. But the penalty will remain in force in Trinidad and Barbados after the same judges ruled that the clear wording of those countries’ constitutions barred them from interfering to strike it down
They are the institutions of hope and aspiration that have become soiled and bedraggled. With a trail of many tragic millions of rands wasted, and of human and institutional failure, it is time to take a hard look at whether we need the National Development Agency, the National Empowerment Fund, the loan guarantee agency Khula and the enterprise promotion agency Ntsika — at least in their present form.
Acting South African Airways (SAA) CEO Oyama Mabandla is considered the likely successor to André Viljoen, who resigned this week, widely believed to have done so under pressure. Oyama Mabandla is widely considered to have the professional and political clout to run the troubled airline.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was marginally weaker in noon trade on Thursday as a strong rand continued to keep the bourse in check. On the market’s upside, gold stocks continued to benefit from a higher bullion price. The rand was quoted at R6,09 per dollar from R6,11 when the JSE closed on Wednesday.
French National Olympic Committee president Henri Serandour says he will not bar athletes from the Athens Olympics if they are implicated in doping cases. However, French Sports Minister Jean-Francois Lamour has said anyone being investigated for doping should be excluded.
Lawyers representing the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and 15 striking white players were in exploratory talks in Harare on Thursday to see if there is any way to break the three-month impasse caused by the sacking of captain Heath Streak. The International Cricket Council gave the union and players 14 days from June 30 to find a solution.
Oom Krisjan is concerned about what’s put in the drinks when the Democratic Whatever (DW) chooses someone for its trade and industry portfolio. First there was Nigel Bruce, renowned for his Financial Mail phrase about black waiters: ”truculent tribesmen with an eye on the clock and a thumb in the soup”. And now his replacement, Enyinna Nkem-Abonta.