The JSE was in positive territory in noon trade on Wednesday, propelled by higher precious-metals prices and stronger world markets. Volumes were again light, however, as players remained nervous about committing money to the market in a big way. By midday, the all-share index added 1,5%.
More and more United States police dogs are enjoying similar protection to their human partners in fighting crime. The latest group are the dogs of one Southern California town who will be strutting the streets this week with the new bulletproof vests. Prompted by the shooting death of a police dog last year, an anonymous donor in Glendale, gave funds to bulletproof the four dogs of his community’s K-9 unit.
National convenor of selectors, Haroon Lorgat, on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of Proteas captain Graeme Smith from the Sri Lankan tour, which starts at the end of the month. Smith slipped and sustained an injury to his right ankle while running on Saturday evening in Knysna.
Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria is looking forward to playing a major role in the four-Test series against England starting at ”home of cricket” Lord’s on Thursday. Kaneria, who has played county cricket with great success for Essex, hopes he can take his form in English conditions with him to Lord’s and follow in the footsteps of Australia leg-spin great Shane Warne
Sharply escalating its military campaign, Israel dropped a 250kg bomb on a Gaza home on Wednesday to assassinate top Hamas fugitives, killing nine civilians as Islamic militant leaders got away. The nine dead were all members of the same family, including the parents and seven of their children.
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Fifa may strip disgraced French skipper Zinedine Zidane of his World Cup best player award, the organisation’s president Sepp Blatter has told Italian newspapers. Zidane was announced as the winner of the prestigious award on Monday morning, the day after the World Cup final which saw him sent off for head-butting an Italian opponent.
A man who allegedly shot and killed three people during a dispute over an electricity bill was killed by the police near Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday morning. Rodney Gxubane, who allegedly killed his landlord, the landlord’s daughter and a boyfriend of another of the landlord’s daughters last month was shot dead by members of the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit in Sweetwaters
Israel targeted Hamas’s top commanders in a Gaza air strike on Wednesday that killed six Palestinians and reduced to rubble a three-storey building where the militants were believed to be meeting. The Israeli military said the attack wounded Mohammad Deif, leader of the governing Hamas movement’s armed wing and Israel’s most wanted man
The European Commission is to step up pressure on Microsoft on Wednesday to respect a 2004 antitrust ruling, by slapping huge new daily fines on the defiant software group. With an irritated Microsoft flaunting the ruling, the EU’s competition watchdog is poised to impose fines as high as â,¬2-million ($2,55-million) per day backdated to December 15.
We have a peculiar set-up in South Africa when it comes to buying a house. Buyers and sellers are represented by the same agent, who is incentivised purely by the sale of the property at the highest price. This makes it impossible for an estate agent to act in the best interests of the buyer.