The latest data on building plans passed and residential buildings completed for the first six months of 2005 point to a sharp 43,5% drop in the number of lower-income, smaller houses completed and a 10% fall in the number of plans passed for such houses, according to Absa senior economist Jacques du Toit.
Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille says the Democratic Alliance is a small white boys’ club.
The Johannesburg residence of former deputy president Jacob Zuma and the offices of his attorney in Durban were searched by the Scorpions on Thursday morning, his attorney said. This comes after a similar raid at the home of Zuma’s financial adviser Schabir Shaik who is currently appealing a fraud and corruption conviction relating to his relationship with Zuma.
The big freeze for Bafana Bafana in recent times continued in Reykjavik on Wednesday night when Iceland recorded an emphatic 4-1 win over South Africa in what was billed as a warm-up for next month’s critical World Cup qualifying game against Burkina Faso.
The World Golf Championships often include players from areas where golf isn’t widely followed, and are little recognised beyond home. Marc Cayeux is among them. ”I’ve never heard of him,” Tiger Woods said. ”No offence or disrespect at all. I just didn’t know who he was.”
Israeli forces were set for a showdown on Thursday with the final hard core of Gaza Strip settlers, surrounding synagogues where thousands of religious Jews had taken refuge as the country struggled to absorb the traumatic impact of ending its 38-year occupation of Gaza.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has turned down an offer from former Mozambican leader Joaquim Chissano to mediate between the Zimbabwe government and the opposition, the former president said on Wednesday. ”President Mugabe said clearly there is no need [for] such talks,” Chissano told reporters.
The JSE opened weaker on Thursday on continued profit-taking as well as concerns about the level of the oil price and its impact on inflation and global interest rates, traders said. By 9.14am, the all share index lost 0,28%, Industrials and financials climbed 0,23% and 0,02% respectively, while the banks index was 0,1% in the red.
A 4 200-year-old hoard of gold, comparable to the fabulous treasures of Troy, has been found in Bulgaria to the delight of archaeologists desperate to beat looters to tombs in the former communist country. The miniature pieces were unearthed in an ancient tomb in Dabene, 120km east of the capital, Sofia.
The families of the victims of the serial killer known as BTK — bind, torture, kill — on Wednesday heard and saw in graphic detail the depravity of the crimes he committed over more than 30 years. Dennis Rader terrorised and taunted the residents of Wichita, Kansas, committing 10 murders and sending rambling messages and poems to news outlets and the police.