Trade union Solidarity on Tuesday announced its decision to join the Confederation of South African Workers’ Unions (Consawu). Consawu, which was founded in March 2003, currently has 23 trade unions as members, of which Solidarity is the largest group. Consawu’s total membership is almost 290 000 members.
Coal — the doomed energy resource, great polluter and contributor to global warming — might just have a brighter future. This is if a new technology that captures carbon dioxide from coal plants can be fine-tuned in the next few years. South Africa has an abundance of coal, but the environmental problems coal plants cause is dampening the future of the mineral.
Former France captain Michel Platini has confirmed his candidacy for the presidency of European soccer’s governing body. French soccer federation chief Jean-Pierre Escalettes officially announced Platini’s candidacy in a letter on Monday to Uefa secretary general Lars-Christer Olsson. The elections will be held in January 2007.
New Zealand coach Graham Henry said on Tuesday he had called up his ”A” team for Saturday’s Tri-Nations clash against Australia, taking no chances against the All Blacks’ resurgent arch-rivals. Henry named a squad virtually unchanged from the one that thrashed Australia 32-12 earlier this month.
FC Porto striker Benni McCarthy is close to signing with English Premiership side Blackburn Rovers for three years, the South African international forward said in a newspaper interview. ”I’m sad because I’m leaving many friends behind at FC Porto … It was at FC Porto that I experienced success,” he told Tuesday’s daily newspaper Jornal de Noticias in Portugal.
Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting wants a showdown with the same England team that won the Ashes last year when the two squads meet again in November. In an interview on Tuesday, Ponting said Australia are preparing for the five-Test series in expectation that England will field their strongest team.
A typhoon triggered floods and knocked out power in some areas of Taiwan on Tuesday, forcing schools and offices to close, and then swept towards China, where hundreds of thousands were evacuated. As of 7am GMT, the centre of typhoon Kaemi was just off China’s eastern coast moving north-west at 17kph toward the city of Xiamen.
South African airline Comair — the JSE-listed aviation company that operates British Airways and kulula.com in South Africa — has selected a broad-based black investment company, Thelo Group, as its partner in a R100-million black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction. Comair will achieve a BEE shareholding of 16,1%, structured via a combination of a cash purchase of shares and a vendor facilitated share issue.
There are neither hens nor goats in sight, the cooking fires have long been extinguished, houses are padlocked from outside and the village is deserted. Boho 2, a tiny village in the west of Côte d’Ivoire, is now a ghost town. A little farther on, residents have also emptied out of Dierouzon after the once bustling market town was targetted in several bloody attacks by unidentified armed men.
Gauteng education minister Angie Motshekga is ending her department’s contract with JCJ bus operators. ”I had enough of bus operators who hold us hostage and negotiate with us in bad faith,” said Motshekga in a statement. JCJ has indicated it intends withdrawing more than 40 buses, ”thus rendering 18 of Gauteng department of education schools ineffective”.