Transnet has sold its housing loan book to the FirstRand group for R1,4-billion, its chief executive, Maria Ramos, announced in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Ramos said the sale of the non-core asset — which had been in process since October 2006 — was part of the company’s turnaround strategy that focused on freight transport.
Police arrested about 500 protesting street traders outside the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following clashes in which a water cannon, pepper spray and stun grenades were used. Police spokesperson Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu could not immediately say exactly how many people were arrested, but estimated the number was about 500.
A coalition of technology companies and environmental groups led by Google and Intel launched an initiative on Tuesday to help conserve electricity and curb global warming emissions by making the world’s computers and servers more energy efficient. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative sets ambitious industry targets.
Attention hip-hop stars and billionaires: the world’s biggest airliner, the 73m-long Airbus A380 super jumbo, has been ordered by a mysterious buyer for private use. The order could be seen as setting new heights in the private-jet sector, leaving the Learjet, which used to be the ultimate symbol of ostentatious air travel, in second class.
Glenanda Primary School in Glenvista, south of Johannesburg, was evacuated after a bomb threat on Tuesday morning, principal Graham King said. He said 1 200 pupils were sent home after a telephone call by an anonymous man at 9am.
Recklessly overtaking other cars can be a sin, the Vatican said in a warning to drivers on Tuesday advising motorists to make the sign of the cross before hitting the road. "Overtaking dangerously can be a sin," said Cardinal Renato Martino as he presented recommendations put together by the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People.
Jocelyn Newmarch talks to Mexican acoustic stars Rodrigo y Gabriela
Two days of fierce fighting between gunmen loyal to Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi police have killed 35 people and wounded 125 in the southern city of Nassiriya, a hospital doctor said on Tuesday. The clashes erupted on Sunday night when police attacked a Sadr office in Nassiriya in an apparent response to an attack that wounded a local police commander.
The multiparty committee that will inquire into whether Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled the legislature will hold open hearings next Monday, its chairperson said. Since its April 20 appointment, the committee has held closed meetings to finalise procedure and fine-tune the timetable.
The case of the father of notorious prison escapee Annanias Mathe was postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Although Zaphanias Mathe (80), a Mozambican, was granted R500 bail, he has yet to renew his permit to stay in South Africa, which has expired. For this reason he will be remanded in custody as he is still an illegal immigrant.