Drivers hooted their way through Mumbai’s first no-honking day on Monday, ignoring efforts to cut the ear-splitting cacophony of life in India’s most bustling city. Residents said they were unable to heed the police appeal to reduce the din because they could not make their way through the usual snarled traffic.
Eight ATMs have been bombed in South Africa in less than a week, an escalating trend that has become a nearly daily offence in the crime-ridden country, police said on Monday. Three police officers and two civilians appeared in court on Monday in connection with the bombing of a cash machine last week, said police spokesperson Louis Jacobs.
United States internet company Yahoo! on Monday rejected software giant Microsoft’s three-week ultimatum to accept a takeover offer, but left the door open to a higher bid. "We continue to believe that your proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders," it said in a letter to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.
Hurling a hedgehog at a teenager has landed a New Zealand man a date in court, a report said. William Singalargh picked up the animal and threw it about 5m at a 15-year-old in the eastern North Island town of Whakatane in February, the <i>Herald on Sunday</i> reported.
Workers in Britain are "safer" to greet colleagues of the opposite sex with a handshake than a kiss, a common greeting in other parts of Europe, a study released on Friday said. A survey was conducted among 1 200 workers by recruitment firm Office Angels.
The interest-rate decision due on Thursday is not as straightforward as some hawks would proclaim, says Johan Rossouw, chief economist at Vunani. "In fact, understanding the monetary policy committee’s [MPC] interpretation of its mandate is of critical importance," he says.
While Africa is experiencing an exodus of academics to overseas universities, are foreigners willing to work in the region? Dr Jon Harris of Executive Partners says often academics are employed on a three- to five-year contract, which may or may not be renewable, and thus are perhaps more willing than others to "give Africa a try".
Clashes between militiamen and United States forces in the Iraqi capital’s Shi’ite bastion of Sadr City killed at least 20 people and wounded 52 others on Sunday, Iraqi security and medical officials said. Officials from Iraq’s security and defence ministries said women and children were among the dead and wounded.
fireman was found guilty of arson and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years behind bars on Friday after being convicted of starting 20 blazes across northern Switzerland. The 31-year-old farmer even set his own property alight, with total damage from his spree during 2002/04 running to several million Swiss francs (one Swiss franc equals $1).
United States employers cut a surprisingly large 80 000 jobs in March, marking the biggest decline in employment in five years, a government report showed on Friday. The mounting job losses swelled the national unemployment rate to 5,1% last month, compared with 4,8% in February.
In an excerpt from her upcoming book <i>Masquerade: The Story of My Life</i>, which will be published in June, Rayda Jacobs describes her film debut.
<b>ON CIRCUIT:</b> The moving documentary <i>God Grew Tired of Us</i>, as well as <i>Planet Terror</i> and <i>Vantage Point</i>.
An edited extract from Breyten Breytenbach’s speech at the Time of the Writer festival.
A major, but unidentified Chinese bank is in talks to buy a stake in South Africa’s second-largest lender First National Bank, a media report said on Friday. If carried out, the transaction will follow in the footsteps of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which recently agreed to buy a 20% stake in Standard Bank.
South Africa on Friday accused foreign media of orchestrating conspiracy theories by claiming delays in the release of Zimbabwe’s poll results were a plot to steal that country’s elections. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad condemned media reports that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was attempting to rig the election.
General elections in Ghana will not be held until December, but with the rapid collapse of the water system in the capital, Accra, and about 84 000 Ghanaians dying each year from diseases related to poor water quality, observers say water has already become the central election issue.
A team of mountaineers unveiled plans on Thursday for what could be the most environmentally friendly attempt yet at scaling Everest — where even bodily waste will not be left behind. Expedition leader Dawa Steven Sherpa said his team will road test a "Clean Mountain Can", essentially a very strong, water-tight bucket that can be strapped on to backpacks.
At least four people were killed on Thursday in south-western Somalia when Islamist insurgents raided a hotel where a governor was staying, a local elder said. The attack occurred in Qasahdere, 335km south-west of the capital, Mogadishu, where Bay region governor Abdufatah Mohamed Ibrahim and other government officials were lodged in a hotel.
Despite all Zanu-PF’s bullying and intimidation, its stranglehold on the mass media, the threatening bluster of the country’s security force chiefs and the probable loading of the Zanu-PF vote on a massive scale, an undeniable majority of voters have told Robert Mugabe they no longer want him as their leader.
South Africa said on Wednesday it plans to use its presidency of the United Nations Security Council in April to enhance security cooperation between the world body and the African Union on the continent. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said that South Africa would call a summit this month at the UN to discuss conflict resolution in Africa.
Somalia’s top exiled Islamist leader on Wednesday pledged his camp’s commitment to a new peace drive but warned the movement would keep up its struggle against what it calls Ethiopian occupation. "Members of the international community are trying to help Somalis overcome their differences and we will do all we can," Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said.
Sri Lanka government troops on Wednesday captured a strip of land from Tamil Tigers after heavy fighting across the island’s north left 42 rebels and a soldier dead, the Defence Ministry said. Security forces killed the guerrillas from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in separate clashes in the Mannar, Weli Oya and Jaffna districts since Tuesday evening, the ministry said.
Calm returned to the streets of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Wednesday as the presidential palace prepared for a crisis meeting after two days of protests over rising prices in which one man died. Markets and shops re-opened in Yopougon, eastern Abidjan, where protesters clashed with police on Monday, and in the economic capital’s Port-Bouet area.
Becky Mugisha* had been ill with a hacking cough for three months before she was admitted into one of Kampala’s tuberculosis (TB) wards.
The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> looks at three vehicles recently launched in South Africa; the new Citroën C4 Picasso, with a 1,8-litre petrol engine pushing out 92kW of power; the Alfa Romeo GT Q2, with a self-locking differential for improved control; and the Kia Picanto, priced from R77 995 and as good as small cars get.
"The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> has attacked myself and my colleagues personally, basing its entire story on an anonymous ‘source’ clearly informed by his or her own agendas, without any substantiation." Tim Modise, World Cup LOC communications chief, says the <i>M&G </i>is focusing on personalities rather than the bigger picture.
Unofficial results in the Zimbabwean presidential and parliamentary elections show that for the first time in the past 28 years Zimbabwe will be ruled by an opposition leader and the opposition will control Parliament. The latest official results released on Wednesday afternoon also showed that Zanu-PF had lost its majority in Parliament.
A New Zealand teenager was convicted on Tuesday for his central role in a global cyber-crime ring that infected at least 1,3-million computers worldwide. Owen Thor Walker (18) allegedly led a group of international hackers who used his programmes to access personal data and send viruses around the world, causing losses of $20-million, police say.
The change in leadership of the ANC, the assault on the Scorpions and the energy crisis are some of the issues that, deservedly, are attracting significant attention at the start of 2008. However, there is one issue that should be attracting similar attention, yet remains a topic debated in only limited circles.
Despite being legalised in South Africa more than 10 years ago, abortion–or termination as I would prefer to call it — is still stigmatised. Women do not really have a choice and it is very difficult to get any support or information on this issue. An <i>M&G</i> reader responds to our story on illegal abortions.
A candidate who stood as an independent in this weekend’s Zimbabwe general elections failed to get a single vote, according to the country’s electoral commission on Monday. Whisper Chivandire, who stood for Parliament in the middle-class suburb of Hatfield in the capital Harare, did not even vote for himself.
The Western Cape’s economy remains extremely healthy, although some factors are hampering accelerated growth. This is one of the key findings of the new Sake24 Western Cape Barometer (WCB) launched in Cape Town on Monday. The WCB is a unique statistical index that measures business activity in the province.