London pulled off a stunning come-from-behind victory to beat Paris and win the 2012 Olympics in Singapore on Wednesday. Moscow, New York and Madrid were all eliminated in three rounds of voting by the IOC members present, leaving London and Paris as the two survivors and one of them sure of victory.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party have resolved their differences with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) over news coverage of labour issues at a meeting in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
London was declared the winner of the contest to stage the 2012 Olympics by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge on Wednesday. London defeated Paris in the fourth and final round of voting after Moscow, New York and Madrid had been eliminated in the three previous rounds.
South African Airways reported a R966-million net profit for the year ending on June 30 on Wednesday, up from an R8,6-billion loss in 2004. The company’s chief executive officer Khaya Ngqula told a media conference the company made the profits after cutting costs and growing revenues.
Deep Impact — the Nasa mission that notched a hole in a comet called Tempel 1 on Monday — was a stunning exercise in human cooperation, celestial sharpshooting and cosmic curiosity.
Russia’s space agency has signed a space tourist contract with United States millionaire Gregory Olsen, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, in a deal that would make the 60-year-old scientist only the third tourist to visit the international space station.
Police cancelled a planned protest march on Wednesday outside the Group of Eight (G8) summit after demonstrators smashed car windows, threw rocks and tried to blockade one of the main approach roads to the exclusive Gleneagles resort hosting the summit.
Alleged baby killer Dina Rodrigues was granted bail of R20 000 in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town on Wednesday. Magistrate Hafeesa Mohamed said Rodrigues will be placed under 24-hour house arrest for what she described as ”one of the most serious conceivable crimes” the country has seen.
After years of dithering, leaders of the world’s most powerful countries face a moment of truth on Wednesday when they open a three-day summit under mounting pressure to take concrete action against Africa’s pervasive poverty.
Parisians gathered on artificial turf resembling an Olympic running track outside City Hall on on Wednesday, cheering ”Pa-ris! Par-is!” as the French capital and rival London emerged as finalists for the 2012 Summer Games. Cheers went up as the International Olympic Committee eliminated Moscow, Madrid, Spain and New York.