A vaccine supplier is poised to release much-needed flu vaccines — delayed by formulation problems earlier in the year — and only needs the go-ahead from the Medicines Control Council. ”If we receive authorisation from the MCC, we can provide all the vaccines needed,” the MD of Sanofi Pasteur, Stephen Alix, said on Wednesday.
The body of the last missing miner was found at Carletonville’s Driefontein mine on Wednesday afternoon, bringing the death toll since Tuesday to five. The five were among 10 miners trapped almost 2km underground after seismic activity at the mine’s Number 2 shaft on Tuesday morning.
The Inkatha Freedom Party says it is ”shocked” by the government’s call on universities to reduce student numbers, and refuse readmission to those who fail their first year. Earlier this week, the government identified the high drop-out rate among first-year students as a big financial drain on universities and other higher-learning institutions.
The owners of the hake trawler that collided with a container vessel killing 14 people near Port Elizabeth on Sunday are still investigating ways to reach the trawler with the aim of recovering bodies that might be trapped in the wreckage. This is according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Mossel Bay municipality.
The 62 South African alleged mercenaries in Zimbabwe are only expected to arrive in the country on Thursday, their lawyer Alwyn Griebenow said on Wednesday. ”If everything goes according to plan we will leave [Zimbabwe] at 9am tomorrow [Thursday] morning,” he said from Harare.
South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance is alarmed at reports of a proposal being discussed in the South African Cabinet for a "super-ministry" to oversee the economy, calling it an "outdated idea that will result in the overcentralisation of power and more bureaucratic red tape".
Even developed countries are not prepared for the possibility that the virulent avian flu could develop into a full-scale pandemic, the director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Professor Barry Schoub, said on Tuesday. He said the question is not if, but when, the next flu pandemic will hit the world.
The Medicines Control Council and the Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday that they are investigating the South African activities of the Dr Rath Health Foundation. Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been criticised for not condemning vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath’s activities.
One of South Africa’s leading sports journalists, Ray Williams, was on Tuesday night inducted into the South African Journalists’ Hall of Fame. Williams was one of the great characters in what could be termed the golden age of South African sports writing during the 1960s and 1970s.
The 62 South African alleged mercenaries in Zimbabwe may now be released only on Wednesday, their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, said on Tuesday. He said he has been told by prison officials the group might be released on Wednesday, ”but nobody is prepared to commit to this”. The men will be deported once they are released.
The Competition Tribunal gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for mining company Harmony’s hostile takeover of rival Gold Fields — provided it caps retrenchments arising from the merger at 1 000. The figure includes contracted employees, and retrenchments have to be confined to management and supervisory posts.
There was still no word on Tuesday afternoon whether 62 South African alleged mercenaries being held in Zimbabwe will be released, the South African embassy there said. The men’s sentences expire on Tuesday. They were convicted of breaching Zimbabwe’s aviation, immigration, firearms and security laws.
The era of disposing landmines by detonation could be over after a high-tech device was unveiled on Tuesday that neutralises mines with a remote-controlled gas flame. The MineBurner is a remote-controlled device that burns landmines without the need to move, touch or detonate them.
Tshwane mayor Smangaliso Mkhatshwa and senior city officials should be held personally liable for the costs of an advertisement labelling Tshwane — rather than Pretoria — ”Africa’s leading capital city”, a lobby group said on Tuesday. According to the group, the metro council budgeted R24-million for the marketing campaign.
Two Harvard researchers have accused vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath of deliberately misinterpreting their findings to bolster his campaign against anti-retrovirals. In his publicity material, Rath has repeatedly quoted a study carried out in Tanzania by these researchers.
Rescuers have found the body of a miner trapped nearly 2km underground at Driefontein gold mine in Carletonville, a Gold Fields spokesperson said. Ten miners were initially trapped in the mine’s Number 2 shaft after a seismic event of 3,2 on the Richter scale shook the mine at about 7.40am.
Eskom has lit up the night, albeit with only a ”dim flicker”, at a farm dam in the Western Cape’s Overberg in a bid to stop blue cranes flying into nearby power lines. The power lines, on the farm Hillside near Caledon, have been responsible for the deaths of at least 30 of the elegant birds in the past eight years.
The captain of the Ouro do Brasil will be questioned on Tuesday about a collision between his ship and a fishing trawler that has left 14 fishermen missing at sea. The Ouro do Brasil and the Lindsay, a hake trawler, collided off the coast near Port Elizabeth early on Sunday morning.
The Department of Correctional Services says it is sure an amicable solution will be found to the issue of a Muslim staffer suspended for wearing a headscarf. A spokesperson said on Tuesday that the department’s Western Cape office has been instructed to meet with the suspended staffer and Worcester prison management.
A man accused of disabling traffic lights in March was found guilty in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after he admitted receiving R100 from a tow-truck driver to do the deed. In court on Tuesday, Boshoff argued that Rudi Berg should do community service, and suggested that he work in a mortuary.
Absa’s shareholders will vote for or against Barclays bid to buy 60% of Absa on June 13, Barclays chief executive for international retail and commercial banking, David Roberts, said on Monday. ”This is a compelling transaction. It’s good for Barclays, it’s good for Absa, it’s good for shareholders,” he said.
Allowing a hostile takeover of mining company Gold Fields by rival Harmony is not in the public interest, the Competition Tribunal heard in Pretoria on Monday. A merger could be to the detriment of the industry, to empowerment and to at least 1Â 500 Gold Fields employees who stand to lose their jobs, lawyers for the company said.
Hezekiel Sepeng, South Africa’s 1996 Olympic 800m silver medallist, is fighting to clear his name of doping after testing positive for nandrolone. Sepeng, who faces a two-year ban if the follow-up test confirms the first result, was tested out of season in his home town of Potchefstroom in February.
The Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) will not appeal against the Cape High Court’s dismissal last month of Idasa’s application for political parties to disclose their funding sources. At a press conference on Monday, Idasa’s Richard Calland said his organisation will not be ”pursuing the legal route any further at this point”.
Burundi’s interim president and a former rebel leader have resolved a dispute that was threatening the peace process following 12 hours of talks in South Africa with President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy. Mbeki and Deputy President Jacob Zuma opened talks on Sunday evening with President Domitien Ndayizeye and former rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza.
Over 34 farming schools have been set up in sub-Saharan Africa to assist Aids orphans, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Monday. Children orphaned by the disease and living in rural areas are particularly at risk from malnutrition, disease, abuse and sexual exploitation.
A black economic empowerment (BEE) charter for tourism will benefit the industry, the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry said on Monday. Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced the South African tourism BEE charter in Durban on Sunday.
The right to be free from all forms of violence, from both public and private sources, will come under the spotlight at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. A woman raped by three police officers has sought damages from the minister of safety and security under the common law of delict for the harm she suffered.
More than half of South African driver’s licences are fraudulent or invalid, the Department of Transport said on Monday. A senior official of the department, said in a statement that large numbers of forged and fraudulent foreign licences are flooding into the country and then being converted into valid South African licences.
Global mining giant Anglo American will show a very small decline of nine United States cents in its basic headline earnings per share for the year to the end of December 2004, to $1,79 from $1,88, as it converts to the use of the new European Union standard International Financial Reporting Standards, the company said on Monday.
Siyabonga Nkosi’s brace earned Bloemfontein Celtic maximum points away from home when they beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-0 in a Castle Premiership encounter on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jomo Cosmos escaped relegation when they beat fellow relegation candidates Dynamos 4-1 at the Rand Stadium.
Premier Soccer League log leaders Orlando Pirates extended their lead to six points over rivals Kaizer Chiefs when the Buccaneers beat Wits University 1-0 at Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney on Sunday. Pirates registered their 17th win. They now have amassed 59 points from 29 matches.