Jay Naidoo, who is currently the chairperson of the Development Bank of Southern Africa and of the J&J Group, has been appointed to the board of directors of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialist agency for information and communication technologies based in Geneva.
As millions of Zimbabweans brace for biting food shortages, President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party has started scouting for food donations for its annual end-of-year conference, it was reported on Wednesday. Members of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party in Mashonaland Central province have so far pledged 48 cattle and 44 tonnes of maize, according to the Herald.
Ronald Ambrose Jones was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Michaela Garoenisha Ganchi by the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday. Shouts of relief were heard from the family as Judge Winston Msimeki imposed the life sentence on 27-year-old Jones for the 2005 murder.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently entered a thriving virtual world called <i>Second Life</i> to be interviewed by Reuters bureau chief Adam Pasick. Somehow this doesn’t seem as strange as it would have a few years ago. Pasick explained that <i>Second Life</i> has a real economy and real culture, and therefore real news.
South Africa will not be able to halt the spread of HIV/Aids unless it increases wages for government healthcare workers, the head of a leading HIV/Aids advocacy group said on Wednesday. An estimated 12% of South Africa’s 47-million people are infected with HIV, and about 1Â 000 die each day from Aids and related diseases.
Six years after they first met and United States President George Bush reported gazing into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s soul, the two leaders face some tense talks at the Group of Eight (G8) on Thursday. Bush’s strong personal ties with Putin have been at the heart of US-Russian relations since a summit in Slovenia in June 2001.
A British police force is to put more officers on the streets during full moons because they believe the lunar cycle may be linked to violent behaviour, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. Sussex Police have found that drinkers in the seaside city of Brighton and Hove are particularly aggressive during full moons.
France have accused All Blacks coach Graham Henry of showing disrespect by criticising them for playing negatively in their 42-11 first-Test loss. ”We’re going to show them on the pitch that we deserve a bit more respect than what they give to us,” French fullback Thomas Castaignede told reporters on Wednesday.
Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan hit an unbeaten 47 to guide Asia XI to a six-wicket victory over Africa XI in the one-off Twenty20 cricket match in Bangalore on Tuesday. The Asian team were struggling at 34-3 before surpassing their opponents’ modest total of 109-8 with more than four overs to spare in the day-night game on a seamer-friendly pitch.
Vodacom workers began industrial action at all the company’s premises on Wednesday, the Communication Workers’ Union said. Workers began with a go-slow on Wednesday morning, which will followed by demonstrations and meetings at noon outside all Vodacom premises. Picketing would continue on Thursday.