Olympic competitors have been forced to adopt a host of cool measures, from special suits to protective headgear, to beat the soaring summer temperatures that will rocket to more than 30 degrees Celsius over the next two weeks. Even horses taking part in the equestrian programme are getting in on the act.
Special Report: Olympics 2004
José Antonio Reyes pinches my tape recorder and turns it towards Manuel Almunia, the Spanish goalkeeper. Putting on his interviewer’s voice, he asks Arsenal’s new signing: “So, Almunia, to start with, how have your first days at the club been?” Before Reyes answers a single question, one thing is clear: he is part of the Arsenal family.
Lightning to blast Old Trafford and a flood to sluice the debris away: the electrical storm that cancelled Manchester United’s friendly with Urawa Red Diamonds early this month could have had those who hate the club’s dominance dreaming of a world without them. Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will be back from this weekend.
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The prime interest rate is to drop to 11% after the Reserve Bank opted on Thursday to lower the repo rate, at which it lends money to commercial banks, to 7,5%. The decision, which caught the market by surprise, was prompted by an improved inflation outlook says Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni.
The information, communication and technology empowerment charter is to come into effect in March next year, the ICT empowerment working group said on Thursday. Chairperson Dali Mpofu told reporters in Johannesburg the fourth and final draft of the charter would be released on August 23.
The Medicines Control Council has declared a generic version of anti-retroviral Duovir ”undesirable” and ordered a recall, the manufacturer confirmed on Thursday. A notice in the government gazette of August 6 advises that patients using the drug consult their doctors for equivalent or alternative treatment.
Government-backed militias in Sudan are still attacking civilians and are ”routinely” raping women and girls in the Darfur region of the country, human rights groups said on Wednesday. The studies by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch came as Sudan was under growing international pressure to rein in the marauding Arab militias, known as Janjaweed.
Trade unions will persist with setting up a commission of inquiry into retrenchments at Telkom, although the company has refused to take part in the process. In a statement on Thursday, the Solidarity union spokesperson Dirk Herman said the unions were disappointed at Telkom’s refusal to participate.