Microsoft opened its 15th TechFest to journalists last week, unveiling up to 100 innovations — some significant, but most of which will never appear in public. It was a wonderfully cosmopolitan event. There were 75 journalists from as far afield as the Russian Federation and Australia, with a sizeable contingent representing India.
Africa’s leading cotton-producing countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad — are upset over Washington’s continued failure to implement the commitments it undertook at the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Hong Kong ministerial meeting in 2005 to address the distortions caused by the United States subsidies in the global cotton trade.
South Africa’s environmental police force, the ”Green Scorpions,” will be out in strength around the country on Thursday in a massive crackdown on polluters and poachers. The Department of Environmental Affairs is to crack down on illegal fishing, the disposal of hazardous waste and the activities of at least one chemical plant.
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Makhaya Ntini will miss South Africa’s World Cup opener against The Netherlands after flying into the Caribbean on Wednesday, two days ahead of the match. Ntini will train with South Africa on Thursday and should be ready for next Tuesday’s match against Scotland.
The international community should take a "far tougher line" against Sudan over atrocities in Darfur to prevent extremism spreading across Africa, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday. In an interview on Sky News television, Blair offered a robust defence of his views on combating radicalism and said countries need to act to prevent future security threats.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s likely successor will not reverse a decision to replace Britain’s nuclear deterrent, despite dissent in the governing Labour Party, a senior party official said on Thursday. A parliamentary vote on the issue on Wednesday saw 87 Labour lawmakers vote against government plans to renew the submarine-based Trident missile system.
The Super 14 rugby table faces a shake-up this weekend with the unbeaten Sharks within range of regaining the top spot when they host the Wellington Hurricanes in Durban. But should the Sharks fail, a second South African side in the Northern Bulls, who face defending champions the Canterbury Crusaders, are within striking distance of drawing level with the front-running Auckland Blues.
Relieved by an overnight recovery on Wall Street, Asian markets bounced back on Thursday from their previous day’s plunge amid easing concerns about a slowdown in the United States economy. Investors who had dumped stocks a day earlier in the wake of sharp decline in the US market snapped up shares in a broad rally.
The United States said on Wednesday it is looking at what additional sanctions it might impose on Zimbabwe after a government crackdown that led to the detention and beating of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Rights groups say 50 opposition figures, including Tsvangirai, were tortured after their arrest during a prayer meeting on Sunday.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday he was ”sorry” for his country’s role in the slave trade. Blair has previously expressed ”deep sorrow” for slavery, abolished within the British empire 200 years ago, but has been criticised by black rights organisations for not going further.