An ammonia leak at a Vito ice-cream factory in Crawford resulted in more than 210 factory workers and schoolchildren being rushed to hospitals in Cape Town on Wednesday morning. Children from two primary schools in the area suffered discomfort to the eyes and experienced difficulty breathing, said principal Abubakr Jardine, from the Belthorn Primary School.
An Andy Warhol canvas portraying a can of Campbell’s Soup was auctioned off here for nearly ,8-million, Christie’s auction house reported late on Tuesday. The sale of Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot), a 1962 canvas, set a record for work from the artist’s Campbell’s Soup series.
Pressure built on Wednesday on Nigeria over attempts to give President Olusegun Obasanjo a third term in office by changing the Constitution, with United Nations chief Kofi Annan and the Economic Community of West African States weighing into the debate. African leaders should "play by the rules", the UN secretary general said in an interview.
The JSE reached a new high on Wednesday, buoyed by rampant precious metals prices. Players were jittery, however, on concerns that the market was ripe for a correction after a phenomenal run.
A British court on Wednesday recommended that Briton Gary McKinnon, who allegedly hacked into United States defence computer systems, be extradited to the US to stand trial for what has been called the ”biggest military hack of all time”. His case is expected to be passed to Home Secretary John Reid for a final decision.
The United States is a ”fortress” because of its high defence spending and Russia should follow suit in order to ensure a solid defence of its own, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. The US defence budget, in absolute terms, ”is almost 25 times that of Russia’s. Their home is their castle — and well done, well done,” Putin said. ”It means we should build our own house strongly and reliably.”
Swaziland’s home-based caregivers are too few and too poorly paid to cope with the growing numbers of bedridden Aids patients, but in the absence of adequate health facilities and trained professionals, they are seen as the immediate answer to a national emergency.
More than 5Â 000 internally displaced persons and returnees were left homeless when a fire gutted their camp in Somalia’s north-eastern port town of Bossaso late on Tuesday. Witnesses said the fire broke out at about 7.30pm local time at the Boqolka Buush camp and spread quickly because of strong winds.
Fernando Alonso heads back to his native Spain this weekend determined to win the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time and extend his lead in the drivers’ world championship. Alonso (24) leads the race for this year’s drivers’ crown after winning twice and finishing on the podium in every one of the five races so far.
Cellular network operator Vodacom connected its 20-millionth subscriber in South Africa on Wednesday. "We have reached this important milestone within 12 years, June 1 1994 being the date that Vodacom and MTN commercially launched their networks," said Alan Knott-Craig, CEO of the Vodacom Group.