South Africa’s November trade balance with its non-Southern African Customs Union (SACU) trading partners has come in at a deficit of R4,3-billion, compared to October’s deficit of R713-million, which was the first trade deficit since September 2002. This is far worse than economists’ and analysts’ expectations.
The United Nations’ (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) set a record in 2003 by providing 110-million people with food aid, the highest in its 40-year history and up from the 72-million people it fed in 2002. The most recent recipient of WFP aid was Iran, which was hit by an earthquake on Friday.
South African cricket captain Graeme Smith has allayed fears that he will miss the New Year Test against the West Indies, claiming after a lengthy batting spell that he would be completely recovered by Friday. Smith missed the final two days of South Africa’s crushing innings and 65 run win over the Windies .
After a tumultuous 2003, the world this year will free itself of major wars and the global economy will accelerate as a new cycle of good fortune is ushered in, astrologers across Asia predict. Stargazers agree that the coming 12 months cannot fare much worse than the see-saw ride that the world went through in 2003..
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/ 31 December 2003
Democratic Alliance (DA) congratulated matriculants, although it said teachers should not place emphasis on the pass rate over quality education. In a statement on Tuesday DA spokesperson Willem Doman said the DA was also concerned that the number of pupils writing matric had fallen since 1998.
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/ 31 December 2003
As the dollar continues to plumb new lows against the euro there are increasing concerns that the European currency’s 20% appreciation against the greenback this year could hold back the zone’s economic recovery.
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/ 31 December 2003
President Thabo Mbeki said it was proper that South Africa had donated R10-million to help with Haiti’s 200th anniversary of independence celebrations, and he said those who would criticise the action ”don’t know anything about the bicentennial”.
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/ 31 December 2003
Four years ago a meagre eight percent of the matriculants in Seemahale Secondary School in Botshabelo in the Free State passed their final school year. This year, a full 98% of this year’s 108 Seemahale matrics learnt that they had passed, earning the resource-poor school the title of best improved Free State school.
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/ 31 December 2003
The samples taken from a cross-border trader who died at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on Christmas Day tested negative for a variety of contagious diseases, including Ebola, a Johannesburg laboratory has reported. Zimbabwe has been on high alert after the trader died from a suspected viral fever.
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/ 31 December 2003
Political parties and education organisations scrambled to get their say over the 4,4% increase in matric pass rate in 2003. The results were generally hailed by most quarters as an improvement, although concern was voiced by some, calling the pass rate ”inflated”.