European parliamentarians said on Wednesday that Sudan’s troubled Darfur region had become no safer since a peace treaty was signed a year ago. Insecurity in the remote Western region was preventing any development there, the delegation from the European Parliament’s development committee said.
The South African Chamber of Business’s (Sacob) business confidence index (BCI) has declined further to 99,1 in June from 100,2 in May and 101,9 in April, Sacob data on Thursday showed. The index had edged up to 101,9 in April after declining to 99,5 in March, and this came after it had dipped to 101,5 in January.
Small groups of radical students trickled out from Islamabad’s besieged Red Mosque on Thursday, despite warning blasts overnight, raising fears hardcore militants were keeping some children as human shields. The captured leader of the mosque’s Taliban-style student movement said there were 850 students inside.
An investigation is under way to establish how a section of the Department of Transport’s controversial eNatis vehicle registration system was hacked into, a spokesperson said on Thursday. ”We are going to find out who did it and be more vigilant,” said Collen Msibi.
Shares in integrated media group Primedia jumped more than 5% in mid-morning session on Thursday following a buyout offer. At 10:01am, Primedia’s N shares were up 5,30%, or R1,25, to R24,85 and Primedia’s ordinary shares soared 5,77%, or R1,40, to R25,65.
Indian demand for South African coal is set to drop, threatening sharply lower prices, as iron makers there cut back, hit by falling prices in the steel market they supply and rising costs for imported coal. India’s sponge iron makers, who use coal as part of a process to make iron from ore, have relied increasingly on imported South African coal in recent years.
David Beckham expects to make his debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 21 in an exhibition match with FA Cup holders Chelsea after recovering from an ankle injury. The 32-year-old midfielder twisted his ankle while playing for England against Estonia in a Euro 2008 qualifying match a month ago.
Justine Henin won the latest battle in the most fierce rivalry in women’s tennis with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 quarterfinal victory over seventh seed Serena Williams at Wimbledon on Wednesday. The Belgian world number one is chasing the one grand slam title she needs to complete her collection and looked in ominous form.
An innovative concept and the backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin were key factors in the surprise decision to award the 2014 Winter Games to Russia’s Sochi. Sochi, on the shores of the Black Sea with a palm tree-lined coast, built a bid around the city’s mild climate and the nearby Krasnaya Polyana snow-capped mountain range.
Surging demand for African coffee is a unique opportunity for producers, but they must not let quality slip or assume processing is the best way to capitalise on it, a coffee official said on Thursday. East African Fine Coffees Association director Philip Gitao told Reuters Africa’s market has come of age.