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/ 18 November 2004
A little less market confidence in the rand might be a ”welcome relief”, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Thursday. He told a Bureau for Economic Research conference in Somerset West that by making the correct decisions, South Africa had by 2001 been able to adopt an expansionary fiscal stance, in a context of renewed business confidence.
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/ 18 November 2004
The new United States director of central intelligence, Porter Goss, told CIA staff this week their job was ”to support the Bush administration and its policies in our work”, stirring a new controversy over the future of the agency. The memorandum was attacked by critics as an attempt to suppress dissent, particularly over Iraq, and ensure the agency only produces assessments the White House wants to hear.
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/ 18 November 2004
Although considered a high risk, Deputy President Jacob Zuma was accepted as an Absa client because of his position, the Durban High Court heard on Thursday. Durban businessman Schabir Shaik was also considered to be a high risk and was accepted as a client because of his relationship with Zuma and because he would approve all Zuma’s investments as his adviser, Absa private bank’s John Dwyer testified.
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/ 18 November 2004
A team of tech-savvy but patient experts in their fifties and sixties has been set up to offer consultancy for Japan’s growing number of elderly small-business owners on their computer needs, the Japanese arm of IBM said on Thursday. The group includes 20 veterans of the information-technology industry between 52 and 67 years old.
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/ 18 November 2004
Israeli troops killed three Egyptian police officers mistaken for Palestinian militants along the Gaza-Egypt border early on Thursday, in what the army called a ”professional and operational” mishap. Israel immediately apologised and opened an investigation into the incident, which threatens to increase tensions between the two countries.
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/ 18 November 2004
Equatorial Guinea prosecutors confirmed on Thursday they have charged Mark Thatcher, son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, with involvement in an alleged coup plot in the oil-rich West African nation. Thatcher is accused of having helped finance the coup attempt, Attorney General Jose Olo Obono said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=125705">Coup plotters sentenced in Pretoria</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=125671">Coup confession came ‘after torture'</a>
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/ 18 November 2004
Zambia is preparing to mark the 150th anniversary of the discovery of Victoria Falls by Scottish missionary David Livingstone with a big splash that it hopes will draw a record number of tourists. One of the leading natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls is 1 708m wide, drops 108m and spills 550 000 cubic litres of water per minute.
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/ 18 November 2004
Burundi has delayed again a referendum on a disputed Constitution to let the electoral commission register potential voters and gather key materials, including electoral cards and ballot boxes, the electoral chief said. Burundians will vote in the referendum on December 22 instead of November 26.
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/ 18 November 2004
Four people were killed in bomb attacks in Iraq on Thursday and United States forces shelled rebel holdouts in the restive city of Fallujah, as differences over Iraq moved back into the spotlight at an Anglo-French summit. The world also voiced more outrage over the suspected murder of British aid worker Margaret Hassan.
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/ 18 November 2004
Mzansi, the account for the previously unbanked, had topped the 100 000 customer mark just over three weeks since it began, the Banking Council of South Africa said on Thursday. The account is a joint effort between the country’s big four commercial banks — Standard Bank, First National Bank, Absa, Nedbank — and the state-owned Postbank.