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/ 14 December 2005
The pen probably isn’t mightier than the sword — and sometimes it runs out of ink as well. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi got a helping hand on Wednesday from an unlikely source, rival Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, when his pen didn’t work as the two leaders signed the inaugural declaration of the East Asia Summit.
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/ 14 December 2005
Africa’s fabled grasslands could vanish due to climate change, causing huge changes to both the economy and the ecology of much of the continent, say researchers on the Science and Development Network website, <i>SciDev.Net</i>. Savannahs are both economically important and ecologically unique.
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/ 14 December 2005
Iraq ground to a halt on Wednesday with strict security measures kicking in on the eve of a landmark election aimed at restoring full sovereignty and stability to the strife-plagued country. A five-day holiday, which began on Tuesday as part of security steps, brought an apparent calm to the city of seven million.
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/ 14 December 2005
South African-born actress Charlize Theron was nominated for best actress for North Country, and director Gavin Hood’s Tsotsi — based on the Athol Fugard novel — was nominated for best foreign film on Tuesday when the list of nominations for the Golden Globes was announced.
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/ 14 December 2005
Manana Moroka took up the position of Proudly South African CEO in November this year. The M&G Online asks her why Proudly SA has lost members.
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/ 14 December 2005
New Yorkers Joel Krupnik and Mildred Castellanos have been drawing stares this Christmas by decking the front of their Manhattan mansion not with holly and lights but with a knife-wielding, 1,5m-tall St Nick and a tree full of decapitated Barbie dolls.
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/ 14 December 2005
Zimbabwean immigration authorities on Wednesday handed back a passport seized from <i>Mail & Guardian</i> owner and publisher Trevor Ncube six days ago under a new measure to punish government critics. "It appears I am winning. My passport is now in the hands of my lawyers," Ncube said.
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/ 14 December 2005
The JSE was weaker in noon trade on Wednesday in trade that was dominated by softer commodity prices and futures-related activity ahead of Thursday’s close-out. Gold stocks bucked the trend, however, despite a lower bullion price. By 12.07pm, the all-share index shed 0,3%.
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/ 14 December 2005
A Japanese spacecraft that failed on its landmark mission to collect asteroid samples suffered a new setback on Wednesday with its return to Earth delayed by three years until 2010. The Hayabusa spacecraft has been out of control since Friday because of a gas burst caused by leaking fuel.
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/ 14 December 2005
South Africa’s consumer price index excluding mortgage rate changes (CPIX) for metro and other areas, which is used by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) for its inflation target, rose by 3,7% year-on-year in November after increasing by 4,4% in October, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.