The price of petrol will drop to below R5 a litre from Wednesday next week, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Tuesday. The department said the price of petrol of all grades will decrease by 24c a litre. That means motorists in Gauteng using 93 octane petrol will pay R4,98 per litre, effective from June 1.
The future of South Africa’s energy lies not in oil or gas but in hydrogen and fuel cells, Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena said on Tuesday. He said hydrogen and fuel cells are globally believed to be the energy solution for the 21st century by enabling clean, efficient production of power and heat.
It is irresponsible to sell HIV/Aids testing kits to the general public, the South African Medical Association said on Tuesday. Chairperson Dr Kgosi Letlape said that self-testing without counselling could be disastrous for those concerned. He said that selling the kits in supermarkets could also lead to their abuse by employers or insurers.
Sudanese authorities on Saturday shut down the Khartoum Monitor, a newspaper located in Arkawait town near the capital, Khartoum, following a disagreement over two articles that the paper had planned to publish. ”The government is trying to censor us, and we are fighting,” said the paper’s editor-in-chief.
Australia will not use trade sanctions to pressure Japan to abandon its plan to kill more whales in Antarctica. It will also not use force to keep Japanese whaling ships out the region, Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday. Japan wants its annual catch of minke whales raised and proposes to start taking humpback whales.
Nato on Tuesday moved closer to approving non-combat aid for the African Union’s beleaguered peacekeeping force in the Sudanese region of Darfur. The North Atlantic Council of alliance ambassadors said they approved the ”initial military options” for possible Nato support for the peacekeeping mission and said their efforts would centre on military transport, training and planning.
Most rural households in Zimbabwe will harvest nothing this year amid a worsening food crisis, a famine watchdog announced on Tuesday ahead of a visit to the Southern African country by the head of the United Nations food programme.
Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile has thrown his weight behind a call by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee for South African Rugby Union president Brian van Rooyen and other senior figures in the union’s management committee to step down.
Bad news continued to pile up for Germany and its beleaguered Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Tuesday, as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development slashed its growth forecasts and investor confidence slid on concerns that a global slowdown could bring the stuttering German economy to a standstill.
Italy has ordered 30 South African public order vehicles for its paramilitary Carabinieri police force, the vehicle manufacturer said on Tuesday. The order, from Iveco Defence Vehicle Division with BAE Systems, is for 30 RG-12 troop carriers worth about R64-million. Deliveries will take place early next year.