John Kerry will have to do something on Thursday night that he has failed to do during 30 years in the public eye, if he wants to win the United States presidency. He will have to show Americans who he is and what he stands for. When he reaches the podium at the Democratic national convention in Boston, his party will be expecting a performance beyond anything he has delivered to date.
South African producer prices for all commodities rose by 1,3% in the 12 months to June from a 1,2% y/y increase in May and April’s 0,2% y/y decline, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. On the month, the PPI was up 1,6%, compared with no monthly change in May.
Former Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) security chief Philip Powell will not be extradited from Britain to face charges relating to gun-running in South Africa, SABC radio news reports. This was according to the National Prosecuting Authority, following a suggestion that the former IFP strongman be questioned about two weapons caches found at Ulundi two weeks ago.
Namibia is fine-tuning a policy to empower blacks which will benefit the middle class and not ”a few black fat cats”, Prime Minister Theo Ben Gurirab said on Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting organised by the mainly black Namibia Economic Society, Gurirab said his office was holding consultations on a proposed black economic empowerment (BEE) programme.
It’s all systems go for Kersaf Investment’s proposed R1,6-billion buyout of the minority shareholders of listed gaming and hotel group Sun International SA (Sisa). The holding group, which already owns 62,4% of Sisa, said on Thursday that all the remaining conditions precedent to the deal had been fulfilled.
Sam Ramsamy has spoken out for the first time against two of his most aggressive critics during his tenure as president of Nocsa (National Olympic Committee of South Africa) — high-powered businessman Raymond Ackerman and officials of the men’s hockey team in the run-up to the Sydney Olympics — in his new book Reflections on a Lifetime in Sport.
Per capita spending on primary health care (PHC) ranges from R389 in richer districts of South Africa to a mere R42 in the poorest. This is according to the ninth South African Health Review, released on Wednesday by the Health Systems Trust NGO. The difference in spending, the review said, meant many districts were simply unable to afford the PHC package estimated at about R220 per person.
South African travellers abroad may be subjected to more stringent immigration procedures in future if terrorists and criminals continue to use fake South African passports, SABC radio news reports. Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Leslie Mashokwe said if the situation deteriorated, it could lead to difficulties for innocent South Africans overseas.
About 1,5-million people have died of Aids in South Africa, according to Statistics SA. According to its 2004 mid-year statistical update published in Pretoria, about 3,8-million people were HIV-positive — which related to an HIV-prevalence rate of 15% of the adult population.
More than 100 people were killed in Iraq in a wave of attacks on Wednesday, as insurgents demonstrated that the interim government’s honeymoon is well and truly over. In the deadliest single suicide bomb for a year, 70 people were killed and 30 wounded in Baquba, 64 kilometres north of Baghdad.