South Africa needs to adapt its trade and tariff policies following the suspension of the latest Doha round of negotiations, the South African Agricultural Processors Association (Saapa) said on Wednesday. ”The suspension of the negotiations is a huge disappointment,” said Jannie de Villiers, Saapa executive director.
Financial mismanagement and alleged corruption within the school transport system led to the non-payment of bus operators, Gauteng education department provincial minister Angie Motshekga said on Wednesday. She said criminal charges against bus operators who allegedly defrauded the system had been lodged with the Johannesburg police.
Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was taken to a hospital emergency room on Wednesday after his health worsened, a hospital spokesperson said. Sharon has been in a coma since January. The Sheba hospital near Tel Aviv said Sharon was taken to an emergency care unit to drain fluids in his body.
When photographer Jill Greenberg decided to take a lollipop away from a small child, she had a broader purpose in mind. ”The first little boy I shot, Liam, suddenly became hysterically upset,” the Los Angeles-based photographer said. ”It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation.”
Ethiopian troops are in Somalia but in smaller numbers than the thousands some have estimated, the United Nations envoy to the Horn of Africa nation said on Wednesday. ”I got the impression that some Ethiopians are in Somalia,” Francois Fall told the media after his one-day trip to Somalia on Tuesday.
South Africa’s main inflation gauges leapt in June in line with forecasts, sealing the case for another increase in interest rates at the Reserve Bank’s policy meeting next week. The targeted CPIX inflation rate rose by 4,8% in the year to June after an annual increase of 4,1% in May, official data showed on Wednesday. It was the biggest increase since August 2005.
Harry Potter’s magic has failed to work on Japanese tax authorities, who accuse the translator of the blockbuster books on the boy wizard of failing to declare millions of dollars in income. Yuko Matsuoka (62) who has translated the books into Japanese since 1999, declared her income in Switzerland, saying she was a Swiss resident.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday welcomed a donation of â,¬30-million euros from the European Commission (EC) for its food-assistance projects in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. The donation forms part of the EC’s â,¬105-million donation to the WFP for its operations worldwide in 2006.
Four people were killed when torrential rains from Typhoon Kaemi caused widespread flooding in south-eastern China on Wednesday, as more than 700 000 evacuees remained in shelters. The typhoon, which hit south-east China’s Fujian province on Tuesday, packing winds of 120kph, was downgraded to a tropical storm on Wednesday morning.
Getting a team on the field for the second Test at Old Trafford starting on Thursday is threatening to become a major achievement for England and Pakistan as both sides try to cope with mounting injury lists. Last week, England suffered a major setback when Andrew Flintoff was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.