Gold stocks were the main feature on the JSE Securities Exchange in noon trade on Friday, with Gold Fields coming under particular pressure following the sale of part of Harmony’s stake in the company in New York overnight. The market was flat overall and trade was brisk.
Some of the luxurious, lush suburbs of Nairobi justify the slogan that tourism promoters have given the Kenyan capital; ”The Green City under the Sun”. Quiet streets are lined by perfectly manicured lawns and shadowed by giant jacaranda trees.
Local white novelists are shying away from the usual racial encounters, that seem to dominate most South African stories, writes Shaun de Waal.
It is possible that Pretoria will not be renamed Tshwane, Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan said in Cape Town on Thursday. He said he was still awaiting a recommendation in favour of the re-naming from the South African Geographical Names Council.
And so, on the ninth day, the semi-final that everybody wanted to see became a reality. Roger Federer, the world number one, beat Romania’s Victor Hanescu 6-2, 7-6, 6-3, and Rafael Nadal, the second most successful player on the men’s circuit this year, defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2, 6-0.
The curtain has fallen on the Premier Soccer League (PSL), but for the four teams in the promotion-Ârelegation play-offs, the season has just intensified. Manning Rangers, who averted automatic relegation from the premiership, this weekend enter the first round of their quest to retain a place in the top flight against aspirants from the Mvela Golden League teams (Hellenic, Classic and Durban Stars).
A Nepalese United Nations peacekeeper died overnight from injuries he sustained in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled region of Ituri, the UN mission announced on Friday. His death brings to 18 the number of UN peacekeepers killed in the central African country since the UN mission was deployed there in 1999.
The British and Irish Lions kick off what coach Clive Woodward calls ”the last great rugby tour” on Saturday with a match more important than the strength of their opponents suggest. Bay of Plenty, hosting the match at Rotorua, is among the weakest of New Zealand’s first division sides and wouldn’t normally be expected to tax a Lions team that includes as many as 12 test players.
Councils cannot finger sinister or ”third” forces for protests against the slow housing and service provision, and must shoulder some of the blame, says Western Cape minister for local government and housing Marius Fransman.
The African National Congress Youth League’s extravagant anniversary bash last year has landed the ruling party’s youth wing in financial hot water. Papers before the Johannesburg High Court reveal that the youth league is struggling to settle debts resulting from the celebration.