Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest nations, said on Monday that despite recent efforts to grow the economy, it would be unable to meet the United Nations target date of halving poverty by 2015. A welfare-monitoring survey conducted by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development indicated that poverty dropped to 45% in Malawi in 2006, from 53,9% in 1998.
South Africa’s first solar-powered traffic lights were switched on in Cape Town at noon on Monday. Located at the intersection of Edna Street and Montagu’s Gift Road, south of Ottery, the four pairs of lights draw their power, via batteries, from solar panels on top of poles.
The deaths of four miners in a rockfall forced a halt to production at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng underground mine on Monday while safety checks were carried out, the company said. Increasing deaths at South Africa’s deep and treacherous underground mines have thrust safety into the spotlight in a country where about 200 miners are killed in accidents every year.
South African online retail is turning into a healthy and attractive business as more consumers access broadband and become more comfortable with online shopping, internet research firm World Wide Worx reported on Monday. By the end of this year, online spending on retail goods is expected to have grown by more than 35%.
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Coach Jake White insists the Springboks are keeping their eyes on the ball as they face the tantalising prospect of a dream run to the Rugby World Cup final. The South Africans take on quarterfinal surprises Fiji in Marseille on Sunday and should they win they have a semifinal against either world number four Argentina or Scotland for a place in the October 20 final in Paris.
Intelligence authorities are to investigate Cape Town mayor and Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille’s claims of ”agents provocateurs” in the city, and the mudslinging in the media regarding the issue must be stopped, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool announced on Monday.
A town in southern Spain on the weekend tossed what local officials said was the world’s largest salad, involving 6 700kg of lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper and olives. It took 20 cooks over three hours to mix all the ingredients needed to make the salad in the town of Pulpi in the province of Almeria, one of Spain’s main fruit and vegetable growing areas.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the speaker of the National Assembly to urgently reconvene Parliament so that President Thabo Mbeki can explain his reasons for suspending the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli. In a letter to the speaker, DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said the National Assembly has an obligation to deal with ”the crisis”.
The JSE was up 191 points at midday on Monday, but off its record high it hit earlier as gold stocks tumbled on news that Anglo American was selling half of its stake in AngloGold. Anglo said in a statement that it expects the offering to represent a major step in the completion of its stated objectives for its stake in AngloGold Ashanti.
Growth in demand for credit by South Africa’s private sector slowed slightly in August but money supply quickened, leaving the door open for higher interest rates. Central bank data on Monday showed credit demand growth eased to 22,91% year-on-year from 23,13% in July, above forecasts.