The first week in April marked the end of a quarter dogged by uncertainty and a stronger rand in local currency and equity markets. Now that the Iraqi war is under way, some analysts are warning against overestimating its impact.
Leading French politicians, apparently seeking to rebuild bridges with Washington, warned in the first week of April against mounting anti-Americanism in France and stressed that the United States remained one of the country’s most valued allies.
The first American pontoon raft slid into the river Tigris with a slosh and a clatter, and young Iraqi men watched from both banks, curious, timid and passive, as United States marines prepared to bridge the ancient waterway. There was not the slightest opposition to the river-crossing.
While no one can ignore the immediate problems this illegal war in Iraq has met, we are beginning, too, to understand what should have been obvious all along: that, however this conflict is resolved, the outcome will be a disaster.
Sasol is set to strengthen its global position by listing on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Sport and Recreation Minister Ngconde Balfour has warned he will consider introducing laws to enforce transformation in South African sport if more progress is not made soon.
A pilot project in two of Malawi’s constituencies showed that about 100 000 voters, or 2% of the voters’ roll, had died of HIV/Aids-related diseases. Concern that the HIV/Aids epidemic already threatens democracy and governance appears to be confirmed in research by the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa.
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The Department of Arts and Culture has established an audit committee to investigate why Johannesburg’s Windybrow Centre of the Arts appears to be on the brink of bankruptcy. The Windybrow ran at a loss of R580 600 last year.
At least seven Palestinians were killed and more than 20 wounded late on Tuesday as Israeli F16 fighters and Apache helicopters attacked a residential area in Gaza City, Palestinian medical sources told AFP.