The weeding out of apparent corruption in the Gauteng education department was to blame for textbook order delays for the 2008 school year, Gauteng provincial minister of education Angie Motshekga said on Tuesday. ”We had our own internal challenges,” she said at a media briefing in central Johannesburg about the department’s readiness for 2008.
Gold surged to a fresh record high on Tuesday, boosted by firm oil prices, with longer-term trends such as a weakening dollar spurring heavy buying by investment funds. Spot gold rose as far as ,80 an ounce, surpassing the previous record of ,05 reached last week.
An Austrian tourist who said he was questioned on suspicion of being a spy in Sudan has been allowed to leave the country without charge, his consul said on Tuesday. Thomas Hirschvogel wrote on his blog he had been barred from leaving the coastal city of Port Sudan after police found articles about a former rebel group in his luggage.
Russia is leading the race to complete a manned mission to Mars and could land a Russian on the Red Planet by 2025, a leading scientist was quoted as saying on Tuesday. ”We have something of a head start in this race as we have the most experience in piloted space flight,” the director of the prestigious Space Research Institute, Lev Zelyony, said.
The JSE was firmer by midday on Tuesday as a weaker United States dollar helped precious metals boost mining stocks on the bourse. By noon, the broader all-share index was 0,57% better, led by a 1,74% climb in the gold-mining index. The platinum-mining index gained 1,4% and resources added 1,17%.
Barack Obama is nearly two hours late when he takes the stage, flashes that smile, and says in that instantly recognisable baritone: ”Good afternoon, believers.” Everybody wants to say they have seen Obama — up close — before New Hampshire holds its primary on Tuesday.
Kenya’s opposition said on Tuesday it would only hold talks with President Mwai Kibaki as part of international mediation efforts to end post-election unrest. The head of the African Union, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, was due to arrive in Nairobi on Tuesday in a push for dialogue between Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga.
West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor has been dropped for next week’s third Test between Australia and India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told a news conference that New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden would stand in the West Indian’s place.
Scientists in China have identified about 400 genes that appear to make some people more easily addicted to drugs, opening the way for more effective therapies and addiction control. Experts believe genetic factors account for up to 60% of a person’s vulnerability to drug addiction, with environmental factors accounting for the remainder.
Namibia had already been dismissed as the no-hopers of the 2008 African Nations Cup. Just qualifying stunned African football followers who confidently predicted that traditionally strong Democratic Republic of Congo and emerging force Libya would slug it out for Group 10 honours.