The four main South African banks will increase the prime lending rate to 11%, in line with the repo rate hike Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni announced on Thursday. The prime overdraft rate at Absa, Nedbank and Old Mutual Bank will rise by 0,5 percentage points — from 10,5% to 11% — with effect from Friday.
Former state president FW de Klerk had a second operation on Thursday after developing respiratory problems and is on a ventilator, according to Cape Town’s Panorama Medi-Clinic. De Klerk underwent surgery at the clinic on Saturday to remove a tumour, which was later found to be cancerous, from his colon.
Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova produced a gritty comeback to reach the final of the French Open on Thursday at the expense of teenager Nicole Vaidisova. The eighth-seeded Russian won 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 to set up a final against the winner of the all-Belgian semifinal between former world number ones Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne.
Advocate Cezanne Visser, also known as Advocate Barbie, was forced to call her lover, Advocate Dirk Prinsloo, her ”sex god”, the Pretoria High Court heard on Thursday. Prinsloo was a narcissist and a control freak, and became abusive when he did not get his way, his former personal assistant told the court.
Pay negotiations between representatives of striking security guards and employers are expected to continue until after Thursday midnight, South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union spokesperson Ronnie Mamba said. ”It is too early to tell how the negotiations are going. We are not going to divulge the actual progress of the negotiations,” Mamba said.
Swiss justice authorities said on Thursday that they had thwarted a plot by a group of North Africans to attack a plane of the Israeli airline El Al, and had made seven arrests in the process. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said that the individuals had been seized in sweeps, which began on May 12 in Zurich and Basel, following an investigation.
The Western Cape treasury is disputing an amount apparently owed to the city of Cape Town, which by noon on Thursday had cut off the water and electricity supply to the provincial department of local government and housing. ”There was agreement in the last month between senior officials from the province and city,” Lynn Brown, provincial minister for finance, said on Thursday.
Five South Koreans taken hostage by Nigerian militants were freed on Thursday, said the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), which had been holding them. "In fulfilment of our earlier pledge, all five Korean prisoners captured by our unit in the attack on the Daewoo camp were released at 4pm [local time] today, Thursday June 8 2006," Mend said.
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon earned a backhanded compliment from President Thabo Mbeki in the National Assembly on Thursday. Responding to debate on the Presidency Budget vote, Mbeki said he appreciated the way Leon had expressed himself on Wednesday during that debate.
Iran said on Thursday it is open to nuclear talks with the West but that technology was not up for discussion, amid rising hopes for a breakthrough in the stand-off over its controversial nuclear aims. "We will negotiate about common concerns and for clearing up misunderstandings in the international atmosphere," said hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.