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/ 29 September 2004
The Athens Olympics cost more than eight billion euros (-billion), making them the most expensive in the movement’s 108-year history, the Greek press reported on Wednesday. Greek Finance and Economy minister Yiorgos Alogoskoufis is expected to reveal the real cost in the coming days, the Eleftherotypia and Vima dailies reported.
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/ 28 September 2004
Cutting class just got harder but schools are safer thanks to computer chips that help track students, Japanese officials say. Some schools here this month began trial runs in which pupils carry chips that have tiny antennae and can be traced by radio, with some of the kids attaching the tags to their backpacks.
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/ 28 September 2004
Gun shop owners are taking the police to court in a bid to get information on the workings of the central firearm registry. This comes in the wake of reports that no legal firearms have been sold in South Africa since the new and tougher firearms Act came into force on July 1.
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/ 28 September 2004
Trade union Solidarity issued world number one platinum miner Anglo Platinum with a 48-hour strike notice on Tuesday, said Solidarity spokesperson Reint Dykema. AngloPlat spokesperson Mike Mtakati wasn’t available to confirm that the group had received a strike notice from Solidarity.
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/ 28 September 2004
The food shortage crisis in three southern African countries is far from over and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has appealed for -million to provide emergency aid to millions of people. ”We had hoped to scale back our activities in 2005 following two massive regional aid operations over the past two years, but unfortunately the crisis in parts of southern Africa is far from over,” the WFP said in Johannesburg.
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/ 28 September 2004
Botswana’s appeal court on Tuesday upheld a ruling declaring a two-week strike by diamond miners illegal, leaving about 400 workers who were sacked during the industrial action with no prospect of being re-hired. ”We won the case and the union lost it with costs,” said Parks Tafa, a lawyer for the Debswana Diamond Company, the world’s leading producer by value of the precious stone.
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/ 28 September 2004
Food retailer Pick ‘n Pay has donated over 800 computer workstations to the Shuttleworth Foundation’s tuXlab programme to assist them in their drive to increase the usage of open source software in South African schools. This single donation will enable the establishment of tuXlabs in up to 40 schools.
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/ 28 September 2004
The draft black empowerment document for agriculture, AgriBEE, has been published for public comment, the Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. The document, which elicited strong reaction from the agricultural industry, was first launched in July.
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/ 28 September 2004
The JSE Securities Exchange South Africa was racing ahead in noon trade on Tuesday, fuelled by rampant resources stocks. The rest of the market was flat. By 12h00, the all share index was up 1,07%. Resources soared 2,7%, with the gold and platinum mining indices picking up 0,49% and 0,22% respectively.