Hundreds of elite North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) troops backed by fighter planes and warships will storm a tiny volcanic island off Africa’s Atlantic coast this week in what the Western alliance hopes will prove a potent demonstration of its ability to project power around the world.
North Korea on Wednesday offered the United States talks on its missile launch plans, indicating it might put off a flight test that has raised tension and drawn sharp international warnings. The number two diplomat at North Korea’s United Nations mission said the secretive state was open to talks with Washington, where there were reports that the US missile defence shield had been activated.
South African clothing manufacturers and designers should concentrate on producing high quality, "distinctively South African" clothing that could capture niche markets that were not in direct competition with the efficient Chinese, Free Market Foundation director Eustace Davie and economist Jasson Urbach have argued.
The JSE was firmer in noon trade on Wednesday, with a sharply weaker rand boosting resources and dual-listed stocks. The heavyweight of the rand hedges distorted the true picture, which was actually a much more mixed one. By 12.15pm, the all share and all share industrial indices added 0,77% and 0,56% respectively.
Sales of music for use on cellphones are expected to nearly double over the next five years, a European cellular content provider said on Wednesday. From an estimated $7,4-billion this year, sales are expected to reach $13,6-billion in 2011, said Arena Mobile, a Spanish cellphone content supplier.
Police say it is too early to speculate over whether the shooting of Johannesburg businessman Anwar Mohammed was a hit or a failed hijacking. The 58-year-old was killed at the Glenhove onramp from the M1 freeway on Tuesday night. Mohammed had stopped his BMW at a traffic light when a passenger from a Volkswagen Polo approached his car and fired several shots.
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Coming into the World Cup, Côte d’Ivoire was widely regarded as the most talented team coming out of Africa. Now Ghana is the lone African team with a chance to qualify for the second round of the tournament, and the vanquished Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire are pulling for them.
The popularity of Iran’s controversial leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is surging almost a year after he won a closely contested presidential election, Iranian officials and Western diplomats said on Tuesday. Attributing his success to his populist style and fortnightly meet-the-people tours, the sources said that Ahmadinejad was the clear favourite to win a second term in 2009.
Almost half of Americans could never bring themselves to vote for Hillary Clinton in a presidential election, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday which shows how much of a struggle the former first lady faces. The CNN poll will alarm the Clinton camp after finding that 47% of those questioned would ”definitely not vote for” the New York senator.
Nigerian police intensified efforts on Wednesday to seek the release of two Filipino oil workers a day after they were kidnapped near the oil city of Port Harcourt, a spokesperson said. "We are making frantic efforts to effect their release," Rivers state police spokesperson Ireju Barasua told Agence France-Presse.