They are members of a hidden army who inhabit a curious in-between world. Tough, heavily armed private security guards who love the adrenalin buzz rub along with high-flying businesspeople and contractors. Blue collar workers trying to make a quick buck or do their bit for the cause are thrown together with poorly paid cooks, cleaners and laundry workers from across the globe.
Union leaders sought to draw other sectors into their wage dispute with the government on Friday as thousands of public servants countrywide downed tools. The first day of what the unions said would be an indefinite strike passed without major incident and had a patchy effect on service delivery.
Russia accused Britain of politicising the case of murdered Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko on Friday and said the affair was hurting the two countries’ relations. ”We see attempts from the British side to use the criminal case to build up some sort of political campaign,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Stars and Stripes still fluttered in Friday’s sunshine but only one American player remained in the French Open singles after Venus Williams fell in the third round to Serbian fourth seed Jelena Jankovic. University student Jankovic, the hottest player on the woman’s tour this year, probably cringed when she saw Venus on her horizon so early in the draw.
The controversial monorail from Soweto to Johannesburg is on hold while the provincial government consults more widely on the proposal, said Gauteng’s provincial ministers of transport and finance on Friday. The project was announced on May 16 but Transport Minister Jeff Radebe subsequently ordered it to be put on hold.
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The state will know on Tuesday whether it has succeeded in obtaining an execution order to allow it to retrieve documents from Mauritius about meetings believed to relate to arms-deal corruption. Judge Jan Hugo heard argument this week from the state, African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturing giant Thint.
It must have been déjà vu for some of the commissioners and panel members of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Friday when they were once again confronted with a pay-TV licence applicant that didn’t — to a large extent — do its homework.
Media freedom in Africa will come under the microscope as global newspaper publishers and editors converge in Cape Town from Sunday to analyse challenges and opportunities facing the fourth estate. About 1 600 participants from 105 countries are set to attend the gathering, which kicks off with a discussion on Sunday on press freedom in Africa.
Since the suspension of the national lottery in March this year, the estimated weekly average of R10-million spent on tickets and R2-million to R3-million spent on Sportstake — the lottery’s soccer betting game — has not been near a ticket counter. So how much of that money is now being channelled into other betting ventures?
A Cape High Court judge on Friday reserved his ruling on an application by the state, which, if successful, could see two LeisureNet bosses face a retrial on some charges. Former joint chief executives Peter Gardener and Rod Mitchell were sentenced in April to an effective eight and seven years in jail respectively on R12-million fraud charges.