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/ 18 January 2007
Near-demented and with bloodshot eyes, a large Asiatic black bear is trapped inside a rusty cage barely larger than its hefty body in the dank backroom of a hotel near Hanoi. The owner beats the cage with a stick to stir the tormented beast and hails the medicinal benefits of the bile siphoned from its gall bladder, a practice animal welfare and environmental groups are trying to stamp out.
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/ 18 January 2007
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Wednesday called for the resurrection of the European Union (EU) Constitution, saying she was on a quest to find Europe’s soul. Outlining ambitious policy aims to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Merkel sought to counter widespread scepticism about the chances of breathing life into the project.
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/ 18 January 2007
Hillary Clinton risked being outflanked in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination this week when she softened her position on the Iraq war but failed to go far enough to satisfy anti-war critics. Clinton, who voted for the war in 2002 and has so far refused to renounce that, took to television and radio studios for a media blitz on Wednesday morning to set out a revised position.
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/ 18 January 2007
Economists take several factors into consideration when trying to judge where currencies are moving. And they often get it wrong. But to give an idea of some of the factors involved in evaluating a currency for risk, the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> spoke to some economists and analysts to review some of the top currencies on the market today.
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/ 18 January 2007
The government’s ambitious new broadband company, Infraco, may be still born with internal dissent and regulatory uncertainty currently blocking progress on the deal to create it. Andrew Mthembu, the lead consultant on the project, appears to be on his way out, after Director General of Public Enterprises, Portia Molefe, declined to renew his contract beyond January.
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/ 17 January 2007
Israel’s military chief quit on Wednesday over the failures of the Lebanon war in a second blow to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s unpopular government after a graft probe was launched. In what several newspapers called an ”earthquake”, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz became the most senior head to roll over last year’s war.
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/ 17 January 2007
Roger Federer stepped up his relentless march to another Australian Open title on Wednesday, sweeping into the third round alongside draw cards Amelie Mauresmo, Andy Roddick and Serena Williams. The world number one blasted past veteran Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in just 95 minutes as he chases his third Australian crown and 10th Grand Slam.
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/ 17 January 2007
The qualified audits received by more than a third of all government departments are not a sign of below-par performance, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts heard on Wednesday. ”We need to have targets in place to actually say whether we are succeeding or not,” newly appointed Auditor General Terence Nombembe told the committee.
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/ 17 January 2007
Several employers in the Free State might be hauled to court or fined for breaking labour laws, the provincial department of labour said on Wednesday. This follows an inspection to check if they are adhering to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and other labour acts, spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said.
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/ 17 January 2007
The diamond industry-backed Kimberley Process is investigating a complaint that Zimbabwe is exporting rough diamonds without proper certification. Chairperson of the Antwerp-based World Diamond Council, Eli Izhakoff, said on Wednesday the council had expressed concern that rough diamonds from Zimbabwe were being smuggled into South Africa.