Seven people have died in Namibia and 27 have fallen ill after an outbreak of polio, the first in the Southern African country since 1995, the health ministry said on Tuesday. "We have 34 cases and I can confirm today that it is polio," said Kalumbi Shangula, the permanent secretary of the health ministry.
India’s Supreme Court has upheld an order by a state government asking US biotech giant Monsanto’s Indian arm to cut the price of its genetically-modified Bt Cotton seeds, reports said on Tuesday. The southern state of Andhra Pradesh had last month asked Mahyco Monsanto not to charge more than 750 rupees ($16) for 450g of cotton seeds.
Earthlife Africa is "disillusioned" by what it called South African Minister Alec Erwin’s "continuing confusion" about the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). "Erwin cites the PBMR as an efficient and economical method of providing power. Since its inception, costs and schedules on the PBMR have continued to escalate," Earthlife Africa said in a statement on Tuesday.
About 1 000 people in trucks and on motorcycles converged outside the offices of unpopular East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri on Tuesday to demand his resignation. More than 40 trucks carrying about 20 people each plus hundreds more on motorcycles reached the government offices on the Dili waterfront.
Wage increases for employees in South Africa’s metals and engineering industries have been finalised weeks ahead of the expiry of the current agreement on June 30, the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) said in on Tuesday.
The price of bread in Zimbabwe has gone up from Z$85 000 (84 US cents) to Z$130 000 ($1,28) for a standard loaf, with bakeries blaming the increase on the unavailability of flour and the rise in fuel prices, the state-owned <i>Herald</i> newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Former Movement for Democratic Change MP Roy Bennett was last week denied asylum by South Africa’s department of home affairs, which found that he does not face persecution in Zimbabwe. He has appealed against the decision to the Refugee Appeals Board. Bennett is affectionately known in Zimbabwe as Pachedu ("We can do it on our own").
Last week I received the following e-mail. It appeared to have emanated originally from some dusty fissure in the “humanities” division at the University of Cape Town. I use the word “division” advisedly. Our universities are gradually becoming wholly commercial in intent, their function to hand out degrees to recipients eager to get qualifications for jobs.
Nominal house price growth of 12,3% year-on-year was recorded in May 2006 compared with a revised growth rate of 13,2% in April, according to the latest Absa house-price index. In real terms, year-on-year growth of 9,6% was recorded in April compared with a revised growth rate of 10,2% in March.
Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema on Monday pardoned a suspected mercenary who was among a group of South Africans convicted over an alleged coup plot in 2004, the ministry of foreign affairs said. Marius Boonzaaier, who is critically ill, will be allowed to return to South Africa later on Monday or on Tuesday after he was granted the pardon on humanitarian grounds.
Telkom CEO Papi Molotsane said on Monday that the Interception of Communications and Communication-related Information Act places onerous conditions on telecommunications operators. However, he said that Telkom and mobile operator Vodacom were in a position to intercept communications and register subscribers as was required by the Act.
Year-on-year growth in total South African vehicle sales was 14,5% in May, up 6 671 units to 52 534 units. This improvement on April’s relatively soft sales figures was driven by an uptick in passenger vehicle sales growth, which picked up to 16,6% in May from April’s 13,9%.
High oil prices and the United States deficit of $800-billion were key reasons for the large sell-off that occurred on the stock markets last week, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday. He referred to the "yawning, gaping" $800-billion deficit and the rapid rise in the oil price which had been $11 a barrel "a few years ago" and was now standing "on the other side" of $70 a barrel.
With its hazy skies, traffic-clogged streets and fume-belching vehicles, the Indonesian capital Jakarta is poking fun at its constant state of pollution in a bid to clear the air. To mark World Environment Day, authorities on Monday unveiled six giant billboards around Jakarta reading "Welcome to Pollution City", with an illustration of a couple holding their noses.
South African telecommunications giant Telkom on Monday filed for an overall price reduction to the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa). Telkom said that customers are set to benefit from overall price reductions from August this year if price changes filed by the telecommunications giant are approved by Icasa.
The strike by foot soldiers in the private security industry has been going on for weeks now. It is a wonder that any of us is still alive, given that we have begun to take for granted that they are our last defence against the Barbarians, in the absence of an effective police force that the average citizen takes as his or her constitutional right.
Raymond Triboulet, a World War II Resistance fighter who helped to stage the D-Day landings in Normandy before serving as minister under Charles de Gaulle, died on Friday at the age of 99. Enrolled in the French army and taken prisoner at the start of the war, Triboulet returned home under the German occupation in 1941.
They are planning a hot time in Hell on Tuesday. The day bears the date of 6-6-06, or abbreviated as 666 — a number that signifies the Beast, or the Antichrist, according to some apocalyptic theories. And there is not a snowball’s chance in Hell that the day will go unnoticed in the unincorporated hamlet 100km west of Detroit.
Eskom reports that electricity demand in the Western Cape continues to grow as winter settles in, but that the measures put in place in terms of its recovery plan are proving successful in maintaining stable supply of power to the region. "Koeberg unit one is currently operating at 80% of its capacity," the power utility said.
Anyone for rattlesnake ice cream? Japan is no stranger to bizarre frozen deserts and this year is no exception with cow tongue, Indian curry, cheese and even cactus among the flavours on offer for courageous taste buds at an annual event at the Namjatown theme park.
The official death toll from lightning strikes and powerful storms rose to 76 on Friday as annual summer monsoon rains tore through India ahead of schedule, authorities said. Seventeen more deaths were reported from late on Thursday night in three Indian states on top of 58 people who died earlier.
Maintaining the impressive growth momentum of recent months, South Africa’s May aggregate new vehicle sales of 52 534 units reflected an improvement of 6 671 vehicles or 14,5% compared to the 45 863 new vehicles sold during the corresponding month last year, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) reported on Friday.
The Zimbabwe government on Thursday said it will evict about 4 000 black farmers who illegally occupied commercial farms and conservancies in the southern Masvingo province. The latest announcement represents a major policy U-turn by the Harare authorities.
Thousands of dollars have been bid on an Internet auction site for the handbag used by former All Black captain Tana Umaga to strike team mate Chris Masoe and reduce him to tears. Last weekend’s incident at a Christchurch bar after Masoe hit another patron has quickly become folklore and late on Friday morning the bidding had reached NZ$4 500 ($2 840).
Standing in the doorway of her tent, Angelina Jolie tasted the sweet desert air. The Namibian landscape was breathtakingly beautiful, now that all the unsightly people had been removed. Her tongue flickered delicately from her mouth, unsoiled now by the rank flavour of the humans, and contentedly she licked the morning dew off the sunken bridge of her nose.
The rift that is said to divide the African National Congress into two competing camps is a bit like the Loch Ness monster. Sightings are frequently reported in the media. But no one has ever been able to locate the animal or verify its existence. And, like the ever-elusive creature that is said to lurk in the dark waters of the Scottish highlands, the myth of deep-seated divisions in the ANC’s highest leadership structures remains pervasive.
United States President George Bush warned on Thursday of United Nations Security Council action against Iran if Tehran formally refuses to freeze sensitive nuclear work, something Washington has made a condition for talks.
President Robert Mugabe on Thursday sought to reassure Zimbabwean mining firms over proposals to give the state a larger ownership share, saying they would not lead to property grabs. "We are not there to frighten away investors. We are not there even to take away that which is not ours. No. We are there purely to become partners in Zimbabwe," said Mugabe.
The debut album by Oasis, the band that best spread the Britpop craze of the 1990s, has been voted the greatest album of all time in a major music poll published on Thursday. <i>Definitely Maybe</i> beat <i>Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band</i> by the much-loved Beatles into second place.
Lightning storms and monsoon rains lashing parts of India have killed at least 28 people and wrought havoc in the country’s commercial capital Mumbai, officials and witnesses said on Thursday. Strong winds with speeds of about 100kph, lightning and heavy rains killed at least 18 people and injured 21 in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh overnight, police said.
Foreign ministers from Asia and the Middle East have backed a proposal to create an "electronic university" by next year. Meanwhile, one of the poorest countries in Africa, Ethiopia, is spending a 10th of its gross domestic product each year on information technology.
He looked a bit like an unoiled crane trying to manoeuvre in high winds, but Peter Crouch’s unusual goal celebration in England’s World Cup warm-up game has apparently sparked a dance craze. The 2,04m Liverpool striker embarked on the jerky blend of body-popping, robotic dancing and moonwalking after scoring England’s second in the 3-1 win against Hungary on Tuesday.