Salman Rushdie’s novel Shalimar the Clown, about a Kashmiri boy who becomes an Islamic terrorist, has made the 2005 longlist for the prestigious Booker Prize. The yet-to-be-released book was named on Wednesday alongside 16 others in the running for the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was easier in noon trade on Thursday as the record high oil price weighed on global markets. Resources were up, however, on the back of higher commodity prices. By 12.01pm, the all-share index was off 0,18%. Industrials and financials fell 0,62% and 0,86% respectively.
Salva Kiir was sworn in as Sudan’s First Vice-President on Thursday, facing the enormous tasks of implementing a landmark peace deal and carrying on the legacy of his charismatic predecessor John Garang. The ceremony at Khartoum’s Republican Palace was brief and low-key compared with Garang’s lavish swearing-in.
Malaysia’s west coast was plunged into twilight on Thursday as thick yellow clouds of smoke from Indonesian forest fires rolled in from the sea, engulfing ports and villages. The Malaysian government imposed a haze emergency in two towns, closing workplaces indefinitely and banning all burning activities.
The company that pioneered commercial space travel by sending ”tourists” up to the International Space Station is planning a new mission: rocketing people around the far side of the moon. The price of a round-trip ticket is -million. The first mission by Space Adventures could happen in 2008 or 2009 and is planned as a stepping stone to an eventual lunar landing by private citizens.
Rupert Murdoch, the chairperson and CEO of News Corporation, said he plans to make several more acquisitions of online businesses in the coming months as his global media conglomerate makes the internet a ”major part” of its future growth. Murdoch said on Wednesday that News Corporation is in advanced talks to buy a controlling interest in an online search company.
Two trucks carrying food earmarked for destitute Zimbabweans could leave for Harare within 24 hours, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, South Africa is not insisting that Zimbabwe’s government speak to the opposition before it releases a -million loan, Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Herald said.
North Rand police on Thursday arrested a 49-year-old pastor and his wife after three malnourished foster children were found in their Watville home, police said. ”This is one of the worst cases of abuse we have come across in a long time,” police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said.
Liverpool are on the verge of the Champions League group stages after Fernando Morientes emerged from a recent slump to lift the European champions to a 3-1 win over CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria on Wednesday. Morientes scored twice to leave Rafael Benitez’s side firmly in control of this third qualifying-round tie.
A defiant Iran resumed full operations at its uranium conversion plant as Europe and the United States struggled to find a way to stop the Islamic republic from pushing ahead with a nuclear programme they fear will lead to weapons of mass destruction.