Australian Prime Minister John Howard had a bad trip on the campaign trail on Tuesday, falling to his hands and knees in front of television cameras shortly after an opinion poll predicted his ouster. Howard, who turns 68 on Thursday, stumbled as he swept into a radio station in the western city of Perth.
First National Bank (FNB) is strengthening its competitive position on the African continent with the official launch of FNB Mozambique in capital Maputo on Tuesday. This follows FirstRand Bank Holdings’s acquisition of 80% shareholding in Banco Desenvolvimento e Comércio (BDC) — a bank based in Maputo.
As Zimbabwe’s supermarkets rapidly continue to empty, Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi has pleaded with shoppers not to hoard goods, reports said on Tuesday. Shoppers have cleared supermarkets of most basics following massive state-ordered price slashes earlier this month.
It would be no exaggeration to suggest that Orlando Pirates went through the turbulent process of navigating a succession of troubled and tempestuous waters for much of the past season. Now, having lost the services of five of their most cultured players, the Buccaneers give every impression of attempting to guide a rudderless ship as they prepare to take on Tottenham Hotspur.
The weather came to India’s rescue as they drew the first Test at Lord’s on Monday with England just a wicket away from going 1-0 up in the three-match series. Bad light, which forced an early tea, with India, at 282-9, still 98 runs shy of their imposing victory target of 380, initially gave the tourists a dramatic reprieve.
The JSE was hovering at tight levels at midday on Tuesday with the all-share a tad lower (-0,17%) and nervousness in the market adding to some profit-taking as the local bourse awaited data to be released this week in the hope of gaining some direction. At 12pm, the all-share index was 0,17% lower.
Six foreign medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV arrived in Sofia on Tuesday after being freed by Libya under an accord with the European Union. Their release ends what Libya’s critics called a human rights scandal and lifts a barrier to attempts by the long-isolated North African state to complete a process of normalising ties with the outside world.
Wage negotiations in the gold sector of the Chamber of Mines resumed at a slow pace on Monday, trade union Solidarity said. Solidarity mining spokesperson Reint Dykema said the Chamber of Mines had increased its salary offer from 7% to a ”disappointing” 7,25%.
A decision to appoint a mediator to facilitate a resolution to the impasse between Vodacom and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has been agreed to by both parties. The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union has threatened to call for a boycott of Vodacom unless it extended organisational rights to the CWU.
The Johannesburg High Court has granted the African National Congress (ANC) leave to defend itself against efforts to force the party to return Brett Kebble’s donations. Trustees of the slain mining magnate’s estate have been trying to force the party to return R3,5-million as well as R875 000 given to the party’s Youth League.