South Africa’s Solidarity trade union said on Wednesday its striking members in the coal sector had received a new wage offer from employers and it was canvassing workers to see if they would accept it. ”Yesterday evening [Tuesday] we received an offer from the chamber,” Solidarity spokesperson Reint Dykema said.
Six Italian men were found shot dead in an execution-style killing near a train station in the western German city of Duisburg, police said on Wednesday. ”The six men found with bullet wounds to the head were Italians aged from 16 to 39,” Duisburg police spokesperson Heinrich Rotering said.
The daily unleaded petrol price over-recovery on August 14 was 28,892 c/l, bringing the average over-recovery since July 27 to 27,081 c/l. An over-recovery means that the basic petrol price based on the daily product price and exchange rate is less than the basic fuel price used in the calculation of the monthly retail petrol.
India celebrated six decades as an independent nation on Wednesday, but the prime minister warned against over-confidence from the booming economy and laid out tough challenges ahead. In a speech from the ramparts of the capital’s 17th-century Red Fort, Singh lauded India’s democracy as its greatest achievement.
The Nigerian central bank said on Tuesday it will drop two zeros from Nits currency, the naira, to make money cheaper to produce and easier to handle. The reforms, which aim at working towards full convertibility and decreasing reliance on the United States dollar, will take effect August 1 2008, a statement from the bank said.
South Africa’s rand fell to a four-and-a-half month low to the dollar on Wednesday, and some traders said the rand could weaken even further as investors unload risky assets. At 06h40 GMT the rand stood at 7,39 to the dollar, 0,6% weaker than its previous New York Close. It touched a low of 7,4120 earlier, a level last hit on March 21, according to Reuters data.
A full-strength Australian squad is gunning to add next month’s Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa to its bulging trophy cabinet, batsman Michael Clarke said on Wednesday. Australia swept to a third successive victory in the 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean this year, won the last Champions Trophy and are ranked the top Test side in the world.
Tiger Woods plans to design his first American course in the mountains of North Carolina. The Cliffs at High Carolina will be located near Asheville, North Carolina, and will allow only walkers, something Woods said was key to the deal. Woods wants to let the scenic land dictate the layout and hopes the course gives golfers a fair test and a chance to connect with nature.
Four years of meticulous planning and building a squad of 30 versatile players is what South Africa coach Jake White will be banking on when the Springboks launch their challenge for World Cup honours on September 9. Since his first day in charge of the national side in 2004, White said he would spend his time building a team that could seriously stake a claim for the trophy.
A British woman who scooped the EuroMillions lottery jackpot of £35,4-million was said on Wednesday to be a £16 000-a-year postal worker. Newspaper reports said Angela Cunningham, who is said to be in her 40s with a 14-year-old son, paid £1,50 for a lucky dip ticket for Friday’s draw but did not know she had won until Monday.