British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday hailed a pledge to tackle climate change by leaders of the Group of Eight (G8), describing it as a ”major, major step forward”. ”The possibility is here, for the first time, of getting a global deal on climate change with substantial cuts on emissions, with everyone in the deal,” he said.
Title-holder and top seed Justine Henin set up a French Open final against Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic by defeating another Serb, Jelena Jankovic, 6-2, 6-2 in Thursday’s semifinals. Ivanovic had earlier reached her first Grand Slam final at the age of 19 by outplaying Russian second seed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-1.
Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was released from prison on Thursday for medical reasons after serving just over three days of a 23-day sentence but she will be confined to her home for 40 days, officials said. Steve Whitmore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office said Hilton had been ”reassigned” though he declined to give specific information on her medical condition.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has again changed its mind about screening a controversial documentary on President Thabo Mbeki that was canned about a year ago. ”No, it will not be shown,” said SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago on Thursday after the Freedom of Expression Institute released a statement indicating that it would be screened.
South Africa’s central bank raised its key repo interest rate by 50 basis points to 9,5% on Thursday, citing rising inflationary pressures and high consumer spending. South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said the outlook for inflation had deteriorated.
There was no malice in the announcement made about a proposal to establish a monorail in Gauteng, nor in the oversight in not consulting with Transport Minister Jeff Radebe, the Gauteng Executive Council found on Thursday. This was after the council received a report on the matter on Thursday morning, said spokesperson Annette Griessel.
A new-look South African side will hope to impress coach Jake White in a one-off international against Samoa in Johannesburg on Saturday. White has made 13 changes to the starting team that completed a 2-0 series win over England last weekend, resting most of his first-choice players and handing a debut to flanker Luke Watson.
Almost half of the waste landfill sites around the country are unauthorised, and many need to be closed, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday. Opening debate on his department’s budget vote in the National Council of Provinces, he told MPs millions of South Africans did not have access to domestic waste-collection services.
African presidents and editors are to debate the thorny issue of media freedom on the continent at next month’s African Union summit in Accra, Ghana. This was announced on Thursday by chairperson of The African Editors’ Forum Mathatha Tsedu.
An intended strike at cellphone services operator Vodacom has been averted. The group said in a statement late on Thursday that management and the Communication Workers’ Union [CWU] "have engaged in discussions resulting in the intended industrial action of Vodacom CWU members being suspended, pending successful negotiations".