Who would have thought it? France’s new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, dismissed two months ago as an aloof, unelected and often incomprehensible aristocrat, began his brief summer holiday on Tuesday with his popularity soaring and newspaper editorials singing his praises.
In life, Marlon Brando was an Oscar-winning actor and something of an eccentric. In death, he is about to become a published author. A pirate adventure story he co-wrote 30 years ago has been turned into a novel, and it is claimed the work offers insights into the Hollywood star’s tumultuous life.
Passengers who survived a plane crash on an Air France jet headed for Toronto have described their panic and confusion on Wednesday morning as the plane burst into flames after skidding off the runway into a ravine. All 297 passengers survived the crash on Tuesday night.
The Springbok management breathed a collective sigh of relief as veteran loosehead prop Os du Randt passed a fitness test and was included in the Bok starting line-up announced by coach Jake White on Wednesday for their Tri-Nations rugby match against the All Blacks at Newlands on Saturday.
A new novel about a mixed-race teenage girl who trains to become a suicide bomber is flying off the shelves in Britain and is well on its way to becoming a best-seller, press reports said on Wednesday. Checkmate, by award-winning children’s book author Malorie Blackman, was published in June, before the July 7 suicide bomb attacks on London’s transport system.
Squatters in Marlboro, Johannesburg, will not be satisfied with council offers of temporary accommodation unless they are told where it is and are able to inspect it. This emerged on Wednesday at the meeting of area leaders of the squatters following talks with council officials. Violence flared again in Marlboro on Wednesday.
Police offered a R50 000 reward on Wednesday for information leading to the arrest of William Nkuna, accused of the murder of missing police Constable Francis Rasuge. Nkuna’s trial was supposed to have started on Monday at the Mmabatho Circuit Court sitting in Ga-Rankuwa, but he failed to arrive.
Global resources group Rio Tinto on Wednesday announced a 35% increase in its interim earnings per share to 157,6 United States cents from 116,8 US cents in the 2004 interim period. First-half net earnings were $2,165-billion, up from $1,611-billion in the first half of last year.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) reached yet another record high on Wednesday, led by resources heavyweights BHP Billiton and Anglo American, which were bolstered by United Kingdom-listed Rio Tinto’s solid results released before the opening. Gold stocks led the market’s downside on the back of a stronger rand.
About 125 Gauteng bus operators refused to run their buses on Wednesday, leaving thousands of pupils stranded, the South African Bus Operators’ Association said. The operators demand 35c/km for each child transported, while the Gauteng education department is offering 25c/km per child.