President Thabo Mbeki has taken issue with those elevating sacked deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge to ”heroine” status. ”Ordinarily, I would not make any further comment on this matter,” Mbeki said in his online newsletter on Friday, ANC Today. However, an ill-founded hue and cry about the dismissal had been raised.
Najwa Petersen was not mentally ill when she allegedly killed her husband, Taliep, and is fit to stand trial, a Cape Town regional magistrate ruled on Friday. The finding, based on the unanimous reports of three psychiatrists, cleared the way for Petersen and her three co-accused to go on trial in the Cape High Court in February next year.
South Africa’s apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok and four co-accused pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of attempting to murder Frank Chikane, a leading black activist cleric, in 1989 by poisoning his underwear. They confirmed in the Pretoria High Court that there had been an agreement between the state and themselves over the charges.
The JSE was lower at noon on Friday as early indications pointing to a weak start on Wall Street pressed jittery investors to continue to slash risk amid global credit upheaval. At midday, the all-share index was down 1,57%. Resources fell 2,33%, the gold-mining index was off 2% and the platinum-mining index tumbled 2,69%.
The 2007 Southern African Development Community (SADC) <i>Business Climate Survey</i> has put crime, theft and corruption on top of the list of stifling blocks to more regional trade and investment, reported the Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Friday.
A super-strength typhoon that brought flooding to parts of the Philippines tore into Taiwan on Friday, forcing the cancellation of flights and sending coastal residents rushing to secure their homes. Meanwhile, Hurricane Dean strengthened and threatened to become a dangerously powerful storm as it plowed toward the Caribbean.
South Africa’s rand weakened sharply against the dollar on Friday, just off a nine-and-a-half month low, as volatility prevailed on international markets, and traders said on Friday there was probably no respite for the unit on the horizon. The local currency was trading at 7,58 versus the dollar at 07h10 GMT, about 1,9% weaker than its New York close.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recommended on Thursday the more than 14Â 000 peacekeepers in Liberia be reduced by about 5Â 000 over the next three years, starting in October. But Ban said it was ”too early to determine” when to withdraw the entire peacekeeping force.
South Africa’s blue chip Top-40 index turned positive after opening over 1% weaker on Friday, following a rebound in European shares. At 07h41 GMT, the Top-40 index was 0,67% stronger at 23Â 577,36, with the broader all-share index 0,54 percent firmer at 26Â 130,95 points.
Captain Brian O’Driscoll is set to miss Ireland’s opening match of the World Cup next month after suffering a fractured sinus during a warm-up match in France, the Irish Rugby Union said on Friday. The 28-year-old centre was taken to hospital for X-rays with a suspected broken right cheekbone after receiving a punch an hour into the 42-6 victory over Bayonne on Thursday.