Tony Blair on Wednesday arrived for his last Group of Eight (G8) summit as British prime minister, hoping to secure movement on climate change and greater commitments to help Africa. Blair, who last week completed a three-country tour of Africa, wants more to be done to boost aid to the world’s poorest continent and progress on a new deal to tackle climate change.
Three of South Africa’s trade-union giants, with a combined membership of about 600Â 000, are considering sympathy action with striking public servants. The country’s largest union, the National Union of Mineworkers will meet attorneys on Thursday to see if full-blown industrial action can be taken in a shorter period than the required seven days’ notice.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal pulled no punches as he crushed close friend and former winner Carlos Moya in straight sets to move closer to a third straight French Open title on Wednesday. The 21-year-old cruised to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory against the 1998 champion to set up a meeting with in-form Serb Novak Djokovic.
Anti-capitalist protesters clashed with police on Wednesday, injuring eight, as they tried to blockade routes to a summit of major powers in northern Germany. Police used water cannons to push back demonstrators. Delegates from several Group of Eight (G8) countries said the protests were limiting their ability to move around at the summit venue.
About 220 000 businesses have already registered for the government’s small-business tax amnesty, more than twice as many as expected, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. The amnesty, for businesses with a turnover of less than R10-million, was launched in August last year and was to have closed on May 31.
Insecurity, tension and attacks on aid convoys have this year added another 140Â 000 people to an estimated two million people displaced by civil war in Sudan’s western Darfur region, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Many of the camps set up for the homeless are full, the UN mission in Khartoum added in a report.
A television documentary on President Thabo Mbeki, pulled off the air at the last minute, is finally to be screened by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the Freedom of Expression Institute said on Wednesday. The pulling of the documentary resulted in accusations of self-censorship being levelled against the national broadcaster.
The world’s poorer nations could disengage from globalisation and multilateral institutions if the current imperfect world order continues, South Africa’s Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. ”If we cannot fix what is so obviously imperfect, then the losers from globalisation will either shout more loudly or they will disengage from the process,” he said.
South Africa’s manufacturing output growth slowed to 3,8% year-on-year in April, suggesting the key sector could put a brake on economic growth this year. tatistics South Africa said growth in volume terms eased from an upwardly revised 5,5% in March, with month-on-month production contracting a seasonally adjusted 1,9%.
E-Sat and On Digital Media (ODM) on Tuesday threw their hats into the ring of serious contenders for the money-spinning pay-TV licences, giving viable and credible presentations to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa in Sandton.