Farmer body Grain South Africa (GSA) on Wednesday warned farmers against the illegal use of water in terms of the National Water Act No 36 of 1998. GSA chairperson Bully Botma said the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has estimated that up to 70% of water use along the mid and lower Vaal river system is illegal.
South Africa’s 2004 motor trade sales rose by 17,4% year-on-year to R175,3-billion after a 12,3% rise in 2003, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. This compared with growth of 9,8% and 7,4% in 2004 and 2003 in nominal gross domestic product.
Japanese police have arrested an unemployed man for burying needles in fried chicken at a supermarket and swallowing them in a bid to get money from the store. Kyosuke Miyasako (43) told the supermarket in the Tokyo suburb of Sayama that he had eaten needles in its chicken and another customer found needles in sushi.
Seven people have killed themselves within hours of each other in Japan in the latest round of suicides committed after pacts made on the internet. Four people in their 20s and 30s were found dead in a car in a mountainside parking lot in Tochigi prefecture late on Monday.
Striking truck drivers were marching to the bargaining council for the trucking industry in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, to present a memorandum on Wednesday morning. About 500 strikers — some armed with knobkieries — gathered at Beyers Naude Square. They would join about 2Â 000 striking truck drivers already waiting outside the bargaining council.
Cape Town band Flat Stanley are on the road to fame and show no signs of stopping soon. Vocalist Andrew Mac spoke to Riaan Wolmarans.
There can hardly be a more surreal setting in which to watch Living with Michael Jackson. The documentary made by the British TV journalist Martin Bashir is at the centre of the current trial of the 46-year-old entertainer on charges of child molestation.
Reports. They gather dust on the desks of journalists and bureaucrats — after having been opened with reluctance, and closed with speed. Months of work may have gone into their production; but all too often, the only use for them seems to be as doorstops. The findings contained in reports are often disregarded by those who draw up social and economic policies.
Tony Leon, leader of the Democratic Alliance, writes for the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> on the debate in Parliament two weeks ago about President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation address, which "contained two parallel debates — one looking back at the past, the other focused on the future".
Millions of Africans have never had power on tap, and in isolated rural areas most rely on battery-powered radios as their only source of news. But in many impoverished communities even the cost of batteries is out of reach. This predicament led to the establishment of Freeplay Group, a company that markets appliances such as wind-up radios and torches.