The JSE was higher at midday on Friday, supported by solid gains for resource stocks after metals prices staged a slight recovery, while stronger European markets provided additional support. At 12pm the all-share index was up 1,02%, thanks to a 1,39% rise in resources.
When news of Ernie Els’s knee injury in 2005 reached the world’s best golfers, Fiji’s Vijay Singh said: ”It’s sad that it happened … The team will miss him more than he’s going to miss the team.” How apt. For since the injury during a sailing holiday in the Mediterranean, and even after his return, the world has missed Els.
The Cannes Film Festival opens on Wednesday with a mix of arthouse movie making and raw star power fitting for cinema’s greatest showcase, which turns 60 this year. Chinese director Wong Kar Wai, best known in the West for In The Mood For Love, brings My Blueberry Nights” to the palm-lined Riviera resort.
Paul Wolfowitz resigned as World Bank president, ending turmoil over his leadership, but the next battle loomed for the United States over how and if it should continue to appoint the head of the institution. Wolfowitz’s resignation on Thursday, forced by his handling of a high-paying promotion for his partner, takes effect on June 30.
The rejection of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) report by South Africa has come as no surprise as it is consistent with the government’s "depressing habit" of shooting the bearer of bad news, says official opposition Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille.
Alastair Cook’s fifth Test hundred in 15 matches was the cornerstone of England’s 200-3 against West Indies at Lord’s on Thursday. Cook was 102 not out when bad light ended play on the first day of the first Test of a four-match series. He’d been in for over four hours after England lost the toss in bowler-friendly conditions.
Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe was warned by the Auditor General about South Africa’s chaotic new traffic information system, a newspaper reported on Friday. It said the minister and his department were told in December last year that the electronic national traffic information system would be an "embarrassment" for the country.
Chinese police have arrested a corpse trader who killed six women so he could sell their bodies for superstitious ”weddings of the dead”. The Xinhua news agency said the man — only identified by the surname Song — was part of a network supplying ”ghost brides” to families seeking afterlife spouses for their dead sons.
The drunken-driving case against Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata was set down for trial in July by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday. Magistrate Desmond Nair postponed the matter for trial starting July 19. The matter was set down for two days, July 19 and 20, he said. Motata’s bail was extended to the court date.
DreamWorks Studio’s soft-hearted green ogre is back in the groove as clever storytelling and rich computer-driven animation meld in Shrek the Third. The swamp-lover, his equally ogrish princess and their cohorts Donkey and Puss In Boots along with an army of fairytale villains shoot back onto screens with unprecedented realism.