International credit ratings agency Moody’s Investor Services has issued its annual report on South Africa, saying the country’s mid-investment-grade ratings and stable outlook reflect a coherent macroeconomic framework, healthy public finances and extremely manageable foreign debt.
A homeless man has claimed that he witnessed the murder on mining tycoon Brett Kebble in Johannesburg last year, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday. The man, whose name was withheld, told the broadcaster he was asleep in a park not far from the murder scene when the incident happened.
Brian de Palma’s noir movie The Black Dahlia premiered at the 63rd Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim on Wednesday as its 21-year-old star, Scarlett Johansson, paraded down the red carpet. The actor plays a femme fatale in the murder mystery set in 1940s Hollywood and film reviewers emerged from a preview screening acclaiming her on-screen sex appeal.
United States President George Bush’s speech marking the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina was interrupted for CNN viewers when one of the network’s presenters forgot a cardinal rule of broadcast journalism — turn your microphone off when you go to the toilet.
Israel faced a stinging rebuke from the United Nations on Wednesday when the world body’s humanitarian chief expressed shock at the ”completely immoral” use of cluster bombs in Lebanon and Kofi Annan called for a rapid end to the conflict in Gaza. Jan Egeland said civilians were facing ”massive problems” returning home because of as many as 100 000 unexploded cluster bombs, most of which were dropped in the last days of the war.
On the face of it, the rights and wrongs in the crisis over Iran’s uranium enrichment programme are easy to discern: the Islamic republic conducted a clandestine nuclear programme for 20 years. When details finally emerged, and inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency began, it failed fully to satisfy investigators that its activities were peaceful in nature.
Eastern Cape-based <i>The Herald</i> newspaper dominated the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Regional Awards, walking away with five accolades. Francois Rank, Nicky Blatch and Roux Van Zyl won in the Print News, Print Feature and Financial/economic categories with
The Gauteng provincial government has welcomed the ruling of the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday in favour of the Gautrain rapid-rail link. Construction is due to begin in September. The urgent application by the Muckleneuk/Lukasrand Property Owners and Residents Association was dismissed with costs being awarded to the applicant.
It wasn’t just the inhabitants of the United States’s Gulf coast who were stunned by Hurricane Katrina a year ago. It was the whole American nation and the entire watching world. The death, destruction and displacement caused by the worst natural disaster in US history swept away homes, wrecked the unique city of New Orleans and laid siege to the American dream itself.
At the launch of the new South African Airways (SAA) credit card, CEO Khaya Ngqula was heard to say that parents tend to neglect good children because the bad ones demand their attention. ”We are focusing very much on one of SAA’s good children,” said Ngqula. Ja, well, no fine. If anyone can figure out what Oom Khaya was on about please let Lemmer know.