Woolworths will take the majority of its yoghurt products off the shelves because a supplier had included gelatine as an ingredient, the company said on Thursday. Julian Novak, head of food, said Woolworths had an explicit agreement with its yoghurt suppliers not to include gelatine in their products.
South African Airways (SAA) and its pilots have reached a three-year salary and restructuring agreement, the airline announced on Thursday. The agreements would facilitate greater labour stability and assist the airline with its return to sustainable profitability, CEO Khaya Ngqula said.
A whiff of panic surrounds South Africa’s tourism industry after deadly xenophobic attacks that have prompted travel warnings from Western nations and led some Africans to cancel visits. Tourism is a cornerstone of the economy, contributing 8% of annual GDP and employing about one million people.
The man accused of killing seven-year-old Sheldean Human last year started crying when telling police how he strangled the child and dumped her body. Director Piet Byleveld and investigating officer Michael van Aardt both testified that Andrew Jordaan was emotional when he confessed the murder to them.
Power failures could be expected between 5pm and 10pm on Thursday due to technical problems at power stations, Eskom announced. ”About 16% of Eskom’s installed capacity is currently not available due to planned maintenance, unplanned outages, and load losses.”
A Somali community in Johannesburg on Thursday accused police of firing live ammunition at its members as more xenophobic attacks were reported in Gauteng and former Cabinet minister Kader Asmal questioned claims of ‘third force’ involvement in the attacks.
Mpumalanga Black Aces coach Kenny Ndlazi, who will lead his side to the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday at the Johannesburg Stadium, has at least one attribute nobody can take away. He is the only South African coach to occupy the bench when a South African national team beat their Brazilian counterparts.
More people across all race groups in South Africa are living in relative poverty, a report released by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said. The number of white South Africans living in relative poverty has doubled, from 2% to 3,9% since 1997, the number of black South Africans has increased from 50,3% to 57,2%, the commission’s report found.
The Pretoria High Court has ruled that a statement to police by the man accused of killing seven-year-old Sheldean Human was admissible as evidence. Acting Judge Chris Eksteen said on Thursday he would only give reasons for his ruling at a later stage. This was after Andrew Jordaan of Pretoria West took the stand on Thursday, claiming he was innocent.
South Africa made the front page of world newspapers for all the wrong reasons this week as anti-foreigner violence spiralled out of control.
There had been production setbacks at DRD Gold’s ERPM operation in Primrose on the East Rand due to violent attacks on foreigners, who make up 38% of the workforce. Spokesperson James Duncan said fewer foreign nationals had been reporting for work since Monday and the mine was in a ”loss-making situation”.
South African inflation was facing stubborn and persistent external shocks that were helping to drive prices higher, central bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday. But it would be foolish to change the 3% to 6% inflation target range, he said in a speech at a monetary policy conference in Johannesburg.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has accused Helen Zille, the leader of the Democratic Alliance and mayor of Cape Town, of fanning the flame of xenophobia by saying that attacks on foreigners were in part due to the fact that foreigners were selling the drug tik to South African children.
Fate has dealt a cruel hand to Mamelodi Sundowns’ budding right back, Papi Mungomeni. The 23-year-old, who has become a regular in the Brazilians’ starting line-up this season, will miss playing in Saturday’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) showpiece, the Nedbank Cup final against First Division Mpumalanga Black Aces at the Johannesburg Stadium.
African National Congress deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, recently sworn in as an MP, will remain on the back benches of Parliament for now and will not join the Cabinet, he said on Thursday. ”I will be on the back benches. I’m going to have to learn how the institution works,” he told reporters at the International Media Forum in Johannesburg.
Blatant racism appears to be on the increase in South Africa, with legislation doing too little to eliminate it, a South African Human Rights Commission report released on Thursday said. The Human Rights Development Report said racist incidents, like a controversial video shot at the University of Free State, reminded the country of the danger of regression.
Eskom warned on Thursday that it might be forced to resume load shedding as its electricity grid was under renewed pressure. Eskom has struggled to meet demand for electricity in Africa’s biggest economy, resulting in power failures which forced key mines to halt production for five days in January.
”Regina Chinyandi (21), of Zimbabwe, arrived at the Alexandra police station on Monday with her one-day-old baby, Prince, wrapped in a napkin. Upon her return home from the hospital after giving birth, she had found her shack in ruins and all her friends from the township missing.” Surika van Schalkwyk speaks to refugees at Gauteng police stations.
The JSE hit a fresh record high on Thursday, buoyed by miners on firm commodity prices and a weaker rand, but overall the mood was dampened by global inflation worries due to the rising oil price. At noon, the JSE’s all-share index was up 0,98% at 33 230,590 after earlier touching a fresh all-time high of 33 309,820.
African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe on Thursday said the police responded too slowly to the first xenophobic attacks in Alexandra. This came as it was reported that anti-foreigner violence had spread to North West. More than 40 people have been killed since the outbreak of xenophobic attacks on May 12.
Peter de Villiers said on Wednesday that South African rugby players who ply their trade abroad must be made to realise that it remains a privilege to play for the Springboks. The Springbok coach was airing his views on the controversial issue of calling up overseas-based players for Springbok duty.
The deployment of the army to areas hit by xenophobic attacks was long overdue, opposition parties said on Wednesday after President Thabo Mbeki’s nod to South African National Defence Force ”involvement”. South African police say 42 people have been killed in violence in Johannesburg that has raged for more than a week and 16Â 000 have been displaced.
Double-amputee Oscar Pistorius is not in good enough shape to run an Olympic qualifying time yet but will attempt it in July, his manager said on Wednesday. The South African can try to qualify for August’s Beijing Games after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last week that he could compete in able-bodied events.
Twenty percent of South Africans are planning to emigrate or are seriously considering it, according to the results of a survey released on Wednesday by global market-research company Synovate. Spokesperson Jake Orpen said 600 respondents were interviewed in all nine provinces of South Africa, using face-to-face interviews.
Johannesburg businessman Hugh Glenister will likely hear next week whether his court bid to stop the government from disbanding the Scorpions has succeeded. The Pretoria High Court on Wednesday reserved judgement in his case, with Judge Willie van der Merwe indicating it was likely he would deliver judgement sometime next week.
Argentina will play South Africa in Johannesburg on August 9 in the first move to include the World Cup semifinalists in southern hemisphere competition, SA Rugby said in a statement on Wednesday. A full-strength Pumas side will travel for the World Cup semifinal rematch against the champions in between the away and home legs of the Springboks’ Tri-Nations campaign.
A statement by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board that it would challenge a court ruling against the suspension of CEO Dali Mpofu was ”misleading”, Mpofu’s lawyers said on Wednesday. ”The judgement … has not yet been signed by the judge and is therefore not yet available to either of the parties,” Mpofu’s lawyer, Sandile July, said.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang may be guilty of contempt of court for criticising a ruling that allowed the Sunday Times to comment on her health records, the Public Protector said on Wednesday. The Public Protector made this finding while investigating a complaint of misappropriation of funds against the Health Ministry.
AfriForum on Wednesday laid a charge of hate speech with the South African Human Rights Commission against the Congress of South African Trade Unions’s Solly Phetoe in his personal capacity after his comments following a shooting in the North West.
A decision on the future of the Reitz men’s residence at the University of the Free State would be taken at a council meeting on June 6, acting rector Professor Teuns Verschoor said on Wednesday. Reitz was at the centre of a storm earlier this year when a racist video made by former students at the hostel sparked a national outcry.
Movements in the rand currency are more likely to be linked to volatility of the United States dollar than other factors, such as recent attacks on migrant workers, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. ”I think that we’re living through a period now where there is a lot of volatility in exchange rate markets everywhere,” he said.
Murder accused Najwa Petersen, now on her fourth advocate, will have to conduct her own defence if she changes her lawyer again, a Cape High Court judge warned on Wednesday. Judge Siraj Desai delivered the warning as he postponed the trial to July 28 to enable her latest advocate, Johann Engelbrecht, to get up to speed.