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/ 29 November 2007
Zimbabwe’s economy is forecast to grow by 4% next year, which would be the first expansion in nearly a decade, while inflation should slow, the finance minister said on Thursday. Samuel Mumbengegwi did not devalue the Zimbabwe dollar as expected but analysts quickly dismissed the growth and inflation expectations.
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/ 29 November 2007
The Gauteng government is trying to curtail opposition politicians’ investigations into public health facilities, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said on Thursday. The FXI said a complaint by provincial minister of health Brian Hlongwa about Democratic Alliance member Jack Bloom’s visits to public health facilities in the province was ”problematic”.
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/ 29 November 2007
Israeli police said on Thursday there was insufficient evidence to indict Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a graft case, a major boost for the premier as he returned home from a United Sates peace conference. ”There is insufficient evidence to indict Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Bank Leumi case,” police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said.
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/ 29 November 2007
President Pervez Musharraf promised on Thursday to lift Pakistan’s state of emergency on December 16, making a long-awaited gesture of reconciliation hours after being sworn in as a civilian leader. Addressing the nation on television, Musharraf said he would also restore the Constitution, which was suspended when he declared emergency rule on November 3.
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/ 29 November 2007
Hundreds of people gathered in a Cape Town church on Thursday to remember Ian Smith, Rhodesia’s widely reviled former prime minister, as a kind, stubborn and misunderstood son of the soil. The hall of the St John’s Anglican Church in Cape Town overflowed with well-wishers — all but a handful of them white and many ex-Rhodesian.
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/ 29 November 2007
Adam Scott of Australia and Trevor Immelman of South Africa both scored five-under-par 67s to share the first-round lead in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City on Thursday. English pair Justin Rose and Luke Donald are lying one off the pace on 68, with tournament favourite Ernie Els of South Africa, who is trying for a record fourth title in this annual 12-man event.
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/ 29 November 2007
Four rare gorillas at the centre of a five-year international tussle are due to fly from South Africa just after midnight on Friday to a wildlife sanctuary in Cameroon. Tinu, Izan, Oyin and Abbey were all lightly tranquillised as they were loaded into giant wooden crates on Thursday for the 18-hour journey to their new home.
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/ 29 November 2007
A British teacher accused of insulting Muslims after her class called a teddy bear Mohammad spent more than five hours behind closed doors in a Khartoum courtroom on Thursday as a judge heard the case against her. She was arrested and charged after one of the school staff reported her to the authorities.
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/ 29 November 2007
Controversial Cape Town councillor Badih Chaaban is adamant he will not relinquish control over Greenmarket Square without a fight. According to recent reports, Chaaban has held a lease on Greenmarket Square for 15 years. The Cape Town council took a decision at the end of June to terminate Chaaban’s lease and regain control over the square.
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/ 29 November 2007
With little to attract tourists, a region in northern Sweden is pinning hope on a truly gargantuan wooden moose. When completed, the 45m-tall, 47m-long moose will have a restaurant in its belly, as well as a concert hall, conference rooms and a shop, project coordinator and local tourism promoter Thorbjorn Holmlund said on Thursday.