The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) announced on Wednesday that it has posted an after-tax profit of R383-million for the 2005/06 financial year. This is a 97% increase on the adjusted figure of R194-million for last year. The public broadcaster also reported marked audience growth across most of its radio and television platforms.
Springbok coach Jake White named a formidable team with five changes for his team’s Tri-Nations clash against the All Blacks on Saturday. Sharks loose forward AJ Venter makes a return to international rugby at number eight after having last played for the Springboks in 2004 at Twickenham.
A large segment of South Africa’s black middle class believes marketers and advertisers are making stereotyped efforts to connect with them, according to a study released on Tuesday. The study says 49% of the group feel that they are misrepresented in the media by local marketers and advertisers.
National Assembly questions to South African President Thabo Mbeki have been postponed because the head of state has influenza and has been told by a military doctor ”to rest”, the Director General in the Presidency, Frank Chikane, reported to members of the media at Parliament. The questions were to have been put to the president on Wednesday afternoon.
National police chief Jackie Selebi has taken a Free State judge’s criticism on delays in DNA testing to the head of forensics, his office said on Wednesday. ”The national commissioner did speak to the divisional commissioner in charge of forensics today [Wednesday],” said Selebi’s spokesperson, Director Sally de Beer.
A heatwave in The Netherlands in July caused about 1 000 more deaths than a normal July, the Dutch statistics office said on Wednesday. The statistics office said an average of 2 730 people died each week in July — the hottest month since Dutch records started in 1706 — compared with a normal figure of about 2 500.
The National Treasury has asked the city of Cape Town to slash the estimated R3,3-billion cost of the Green Point stadium for the Soccer World Cup by 40%, city mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. ”This is obviously a tall order, because we are convinced that the costings of the conceptual design are accurate,” she told a meeting of the city council.
South Africa’s worse-than-expected consumer inflation data released shortly after the Reserve Bank released equally bad private sector credit extension data on Wednesday has increased expectations of more rate hikes. Inflation has been rising over the second and third quarters of 2006, a development which has prompted the Reserve Bank to become far more hawkish regarding interest rate policy.
A triple whammy. A column by Guardian correspondent Rory Carroll and a series of online postings about it. A PowerPoint slide show called ”WorldCup_2010”. A popular cellphone chat room. Common to all of them is traditional white racism that you don’t see much in mainstream media any more.
Nigeria’s state security service arrested 15 persons suspected of terrorising the oil-rich but volatile Niger Delta region, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Wednesday. State Security Service spokesperson Ado Mu’azu was quoted as saying the suspects were arrested following President Olusegun Obasanjo’s directive to hunt down militants.