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/ 17 November 2004
An Israeli who tried to set sail for his native Moldova on a raft strung together with water bottles has been intercepted by coastal guards, the Maariv daily reported on Wednesday. ”I am not crazy,” Genadi Lambas (38) reportedly told coast guards after his raft was intercepted 28km from the Israeli coast.
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/ 17 November 2004
The rand dipped below the R6 to the dollar level after noon on Wednesday, spelling more trouble for exporters while giving consumers cause to smile, economists said. While the stronger currency could bring interest-rate cuts, lower petrol prices and a reduction in the price of consumer goods, exporters will find it difficult to stay competitive.
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/ 17 November 2004
South Africa’s film industry has embarked on a multimillion-rand marketing campaign to help consumers understand that supporting piracy is supporting crime. The campaign breaks at a time when the film industry estimates that as much as 50% of all DVDs in South Africa are illegal, pirated copies.
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/ 17 November 2004
The Egyptian capital, Cairo, was plagued on Wednesday by a huge swarm of locusts, but officials claimed the situation was under control. The locusts, numbering tens of thousands, moved across Cairo’s downtown area and continued heading south toward the agricultural areas of Helwan and Giza.
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/ 17 November 2004
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia will in the coming years acquire new nuclear weapon systems that other nuclear powers do not yet have and are unlikely to develop in the near future. Putin said Russia still views terrorism as the greatest threat to its national security, but should not forget about the nuclear threat.
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/ 17 November 2004
Kenyan police and unknown attackers exchanged gunfire overnight at the Nairobi residence of Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, witnesses inside his house said on Wednesday. ”I don’t know the motive of the attack, no one was hurt and that is all what I can tell you,” said a resident who asked to remain unnamed.
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/ 17 November 2004
Police in Malawi are to question former president Bakili Muluzi and the education minister over the murder of a prominent anti-government Muslim cleric two years ago, the chief prosecutor said on Wednesday. They will be quizzed as ”potential witnesses” to the murder and not as accused persons.
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/ 17 November 2004
South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance has urged Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to ask the Public Investment Commissioners (PIC) not to fund the Ngcaba-Ngonyama-Serobe consortium in its bid for the 15,1% Thintana stake in Telkom. The PIC announced its deal this week adding that it was warehousing the deal for an empowerment grouping.
Telkom deal raises Cosatu’s hackles
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/ 17 November 2004
Shares in hospital group Netcare took a pasting on the JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) on Wednesday as the market absorbed disappointing results released before the opening. This was despite the fact the group had warned in a trading update last Friday that the results will not meet with expectations.
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/ 17 November 2004
South African global brands management group Barloworld had an excellent year to the end of September, and CEO Tony Phillips is equally upbeat about future prospects. "We are well on track to achieve our medium-term goal of doubling the value of the company in the four years to September 2006," Phillips said on Wednesday.