Twenty years after two of its secret agents blew up the Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand, France is still haunted by the bombing of the Greenpeace vessel. The sinking of the vessel in Auckland harbour on the night of July 10, 1985 still ranks as one of the biggest political and diplomatic scandals of the reign of the late president Francois Mitterrand.
South African listed clothing retailer Woolworths increased sales for the 12 months to June this year by 15,7%, compared with the same period last year. Comparable store sales growth was 9,8%, the company said in a strading update on Friday. Clothing and Home grew sales by 11,6% in total and 8,3% in comparable store sales.
The Mail & Guardian has learned that South African involvement in the Iraqi Oil for Food programme, administered by the United Nations between 1996 and 2003, has become one area of focus for investigators probing massive international abuse of the programme.
Australian rugby captain George Gregan can expect some antagonistic treatment from his opposite number — rookie halfback Ricky Januarie — in Saturday’s Test match at the former Olympic stadium. The 23-year-old Januarie, a surprise selection for the South Africans this year after missing the entire Super 12 season, aims to do what top number nine’s do well: be annoying.
As world delegates descend on Durban this weekend for a historic heritage convention, South African experts are arguing about where the country’s national heirlooms belong and who should look after them. Various local experts at the World Heritage Committee meeting insist it is time for treasures such as the Makapan apeman fossils and the Mapungubwe golden rhino to go ”home”.
The National Intelligence Agency’s tight security measures to pre-empt expected protests at the International Housing Research Seminar in Cape Town this week left delegates baffled and ”humiliated”. ”This is not a valid South African identity document,” read one computer, in what turned out to be a finger-fuddle by one of the data capturers.
The Barclays takeover of Absa is a done deal. The Johannesburg High Court on Thursday dismissed the application by anti-globalisation lobby Jubilee South Africa and Professor Dennis Brutus to stall the deal. Jubilee and Brutus opposed the takeover, saying Barclays had ”aided and abetted” the apartheid.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq on Thursday killed a kidnapped Egyptian envoy after releasing a video of him wearing a blindfold. An internet posting showed Ihab al-Sherif (51) identifying himself as the head of Egypt’s diplomatic mission in Baghdad and confirming that he previously worked at Egypt’s embassy in Israel.
The death toll from the bomb attacks on the London transport system has risen to 52, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Friday. The Australia leader’s remarks point to a far higher toll than the latest official British estimate of 37. He did not say where the information came from.
South African Airways (SAA) is profitable again after several years of massive losses, but questions over the leadership of its new CEO, Khaya Ngqula, refuse to die down.