A post template

No image available
/ 21 October 2004

Jewellers criticised over conflict diamond trade

Almost two years after the diamond industry committed itself to preventing trade in conflict diamonds, retailers in the world’s biggest markets are failing to live up to their promise, according to two international NGOs. A new report is based on a survey of the diamond jewellery retail sector’s implementation of self-regulation in line with the Kimberley Process.

No image available
/ 21 October 2004

Small SA pharmacies ‘will soon be extinct’

Small retail pharmacies will soon be extinct in South Africa unless new regulations governing medicine pricing and dispensing margins are changed, according to the group leader of listed health and beauty retailer New Clicks Holdings, Trevor Honneysett. He also said the legislation has not succeeded in reducing medicine prices.

No image available
/ 21 October 2004

Kerry closes Bush lead in Florida

In the aftermath of the United States presidential debates, Democrat John Kerry has pulled even with President George Bush in Florida, the state that decided the 2000 presidential election, according to a poll out on Thursday. Bush was favoured by 48% and Kerry by 47% among 808 likely voters in a Quinnipiac University Poll.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=19686">Ill Clinton will join campaign</a>

No image available
/ 21 October 2004

Wired for winter

Technology has conquered the latest winter fashions with clothing keeping you not only warm and dry but fitted with anything from a cellphone display to multimedia or lighting systems. An integrated control pad can be found in the sleeve of a winter jacket produced by O’Neill to operate an MP3 player or cellphone.

No image available
/ 21 October 2004

Australian beaches turn into boot camps

Residents of Sydney’s beachside suburbs, some of the most expensive real estate in Australia, have traditionally woken to the sounds of lapping waves or the muted yelps of small dogs on their morning walks. But recently their mornings have been shattered by khaki-clad fitness instructors barking orders to boot camp-style classes.

No image available
/ 21 October 2004

Old, naked bodies too much for Wal-Mart

Retail giant Wal-Mart has cancelled an order for a bestselling book by a comedian and the writers of his show after executives learned that it contains a photo of nine naked, aged bodies, each with the superimposed head of a Supreme Court justice. America (The Book), is a mock school text by Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show.

No image available
/ 21 October 2004

Nearly 150 feared dead in coal-mine blast

An underground gas explosion has ripped through a mine in central China, killing at least 56 workers and leaving nearly 100 missing in one of the worst mining disasters in recent memory, officials said on Thursday. The shafts of the Daping coal mine near Xinmi in Henan province were packed with about 450 workers when disaster struck.