Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Thursday said he would not allow ”former imperialists” to monitor parliamentary elections in his country next year, a declaration which drew a sympathetic response from a summit of 79 poor and developing countries.
The number of South African retail websites has exploded to more than 700 at the end of last year from 215 in 2001, defying a slow-down in growth of online retail sales, according to a survey. The survey also says the market is dominated by the top eight online retailers, who account for about 80% of all online retail sales.
Joshika’s sari and henna-laced hands belie the busy lawyer that she is from Monday to Friday and sometimes Saturdays. This is not a place where she feels in control. Despite attending numerous weddings and having been duty-bound in the planning of many more, she doesn’t know the ins and outs of the prayers and ceremonies that must be performed with ritualistic consistency. She is better off in the office, where she always knows what to do.
Nearly five-million rural Zimbabweans will need food aid over the next year, the United Nations and international aid groups said on Thursday, despite claims by the government that no one in the country needs food relief. At least 2,3-million rural Zimbabweans need food aid because they have not been able to grow enough food and cannot afford to buy what they need.
Barely a quarter of the -million sought by the United Nations for humanitarian assistance for 1,9-million drought-affected Eritreans this year has been provided by the international community, the UN has lamented. ”The overall response is 25,7%,” said UN resident humanitarian coordinator Simon Nhongo on Thursday.
Britons on holiday may have been duped into taking part in mass orgies on a cruise ship by being served cocktails spiked with pure alcohol, authorities on Cyprus suggest. Witness accounts of the ferry operating out of the Ayia Napa resort have also revealed the widespread use of ecstasy.
A row has broken out between the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance in Parliament over the election of representatives to the Pan African Parliament, with the DA accusing the ANC of deciding who should represent the opposition.
The JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) was looking strong in noon trade on Friday, boosted by a slightly softer rand and futures-related buying. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the all share index by over four to one. By 11:59am, the overall was up 1,96%.
A total of 1 700 miners at Impala Platinum in Rustenburg have been fired following an illegal strike, operations executive Paul Visser said on Friday. He said 1 700 rock drill operators at the Impala Platinum south section went on what he called ”a wildcat and illegal strike” on Wednesday.
State arms maker Denel’s campaign to sell artillery to India is in danger of failing, a report in an influential United States defence journal says. DefenseNews reports that a hybrid self-propelled gun mating Denel’s T6 turret with an Indian-made Arjun main battle tank (MBT) chassis ”is not successful.”