South Africa’s economy is expected to grow by 4,2% this year amid a domestic spending boom buoyed by low interest and inflation rates, a local think tank said on Thursday. "Bar unforeseen shocks, the South African economy is expected to perform well," said a report by the Stellenbosch-based Bureau for Economic Research.
Security officials in Pakistan were on Thursday questioning a British man arrested on suspicion of playing a key role in the 7/7 bombings in which 56 people died. Haroon Rashid Aswat was carrying a belt packed with explosives, a British passport and a substantial amount of cash when he was seized,
E-mail authentication standards aimed at reducing e-mail spam have been dogged by rivalry between vendors. But fresh hope surrounds an encryption technique that is an open technology and has considerable support. Yahoo and Cisco Systems are the lead vendors behind a new e-mail authentication specification that will be considered as a possible industry standard by the Internet Engineering Task Force.
A decade ago, when the internet bandwagon started to roll, the sense of fear from inside the literary establishment was palpable. With each new technological development, sinister soothsayers would trot out the latest in a series of dark predictions. Ebooks, we were told, would herald the death of paper-based novels.
The auctioneer’s hammer comes down with a loud rap as a black bust of Adolf Hitler changes hands for €2 400. ”Going for the third and last time,” the auctioneer calls as a lipstick that once belonged to Eva Braun, Hitler’s partner whom he married just before they committed suicide, goes for €1 100.
A strike by about 20 000 Pick ‘n Pay workers in 150 outlets will go ahead on Friday regardless of the outcome of wage negotiations, the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union said on Thursday. Pick ‘n Pay is offering a 7,9% increase per month and the union is demanding 12%.
The JSE Securities Exhange (JSE) continued to break new ground, pressing to a record high for the eleventh day this month on Thursday on continued demand for South African equities. The gains came despite a stronger rand. At 12.04pm, the all-share index was up 0,36% at 14 932,4 after earlier trading as high as 14 953,09.
As expected, Springbok coach Jake White has named six players of colour in his starting line-up for Saturday’s crunch Mandela Challenge Test against the Wallabies at Ellis Park. He also named three more on the bench to bring the total number to nine in the match 22 — a record for the Boks in Tests.
That television set in the corner really is an idiot box, New Zealand researchers have found. A 30-year study of more than 1 000 children has found that those who watch the most TV are least likely to go to university and get a degree. The seven percent of children who watched the box for under an hour daily were the most qualified by the time they were aged 26.
Political intervention by the African National Congress seems to have steadied the volatile situation between warring Eastern Province Rugby officials and South African Rugby in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday. A joint statement by SA Rugby and the EP executive committee said the situation has been brought under control.