At least 10 Iraqis were killed and 40 wounded in Fallujah on Sunday in what appeared to be a fresh United States bombardment of the flashpoint city and in earlier clashes between US troops and insurgents. Panicked residents were seen rushing to the hospital to check on their loved ones or to give blood.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119642">Another Iraq bomb kills five</a>
As <i>Catwoman</i> opens in August, this month’s movie quiz focuses on cats (and other felines) in the movies. The first five respondents to e-mail us a set of 20 correct answers, along with their names and addresses, will win a long-sleeved Catwoman T-shirt and branded cap. E-mail to <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> by August 13, putting ‘movie cat quiz’ in the subject line.
South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R2,299-billion for its trade with non-Southern African Customs Union trading partners in June after a deficit of R76,4-million in May and a surprise R3,121-billion deficit in April, according to the latest Customs and Excise figures released on Friday.
In the first half of 2004, Zimbabwean total foreign-exchange inflows amounted to $778,6-million compared with $160,7-million over the same period in 2003, Standard Bank noted in its research brief on the Southern African country citing the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s report.
South African company Pensant Consulting has finalised a $10-million deal with the Italian owners of <i>National Geographic</i>’s merchandising rights, the Italian-South African Chamber of Trade and Industries announced on Friday. Local operations will have a strong black economic empowerment component.
As South Africa prepares to get under the covers with Equatorial Guinea, the extent of corruption in that oil-rich Central African state has been highlighted in a scandal involving an influential Washington bank. Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced recently that South Africa would soon be opening an embassy in Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119530">Senate exposes depth of corruption</a>
Investment groups Rebserve Holdings and Mvelaphanda Holdings are to merge. The two groups said on Thursday that they have signed a merger agreement that will see control of Rebserve pass to Mvela. The merger creates a "truly empowered, broad-based, black-controlled, -owned and -managed, diversified South African group".
South African producer prices for all commodities rose by 1,3% in the 12 months to June from a 1,2% y/y increase in May and April’s 0,2% y/y decline, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. On the month, the PPI was up 1,6%, compared with no monthly change in May.
It’s all systems go for Kersaf Investment’s proposed R1,6-billion buyout of the minority shareholders of listed gaming and hotel group Sun International SA (Sisa). The holding group, which already owns 62,4% of Sisa, said on Thursday that all the remaining conditions precedent to the deal had been fulfilled.
Job vacant: National Director of Public Prosecutions. Salary: Substantial. Perks: Cute Scorpions baseball cap and the best spin doctor in town — Sipho Ngwema. Pitfalls: The directorate is an occasional snake pit. Must prosecute arms dealer Schabir Shaik from October, and in the process hang a political noose around a deputy president.
South Africa’s CPIX inflation (headline inflation excluding mortgage costs) was up 5% year-on-year (y/y) for metro and other urban areas in June compared with 4,4% y/y in May, April and March; 4,8% y/y in February; 4,2% y/y in January; and 4% y/y in December, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
As complaints against the state-owned broadcast signal distributor Sentech gathered steam this week, the company has announced some measures that it hopes will improve the service on its MyWireless product range. The MyWireless — described as high-speed broadband wireless services — roll-out got under way in January, but since then the distributor has come under fire because of the service’s speed and tariffs.
A bomb threat that forced a United Airlines 747 jet to make an emergency return to Sydney International airport was a hoax, police said late on Tuesday. Police superintendent Peter O’Brien said passengers and crew aboard the flight had been cleared of writing the hoax note, which triggered a full-scale security alert.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=119367">Bomb note grounds Aussie flight</a>
The German government has provided €7,5-million (about R60-million) in funding for development in Cape Town’s poverty-stricken Khayelitsha township for social development purposes. This money is to be matched rand-for-rand by South Africa. This was announced by Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo on Monday.
Durban-based jazz legend Sipho Gumede died in Durban on Monday after a short illness, SABC news reported. The managing director of Sheer Sounds, Don Gaile, has confirmed his death. Speaking on UKHOZI FM earlier, Gaile said Gumede’s death was a great loss to the nation.
I am asked, sometimes, where I get my ideas from. I always say that I just keep an eye on the news; it provides all the craziness and insanity I need. So here is a selection of sites and news items to show you that the world isn’t as safe, stable and reliable as you might believe …
The Competition Appeal Court will on Friday hear South African telecommunications giant Telkom’s appeal against the Competition Tribunal’s procedural decision which allowed private company Orion Cellular access to certain documents which Telkom wanted to restrict only to their legal representatives.
The strong rand has had a severe impact on a number of De Beers’s South African mines, MD Gary Ralfe said on Friday. Ralfe said mines affected include the Koffiefontein and Kimberly underground mines, the Cullinan mine, the Oaks Mine in Limpopo and its west coast marine and alluvial mines.
Johannesburg police confirmed on Friday that kidnapped student Leigh Matthews was shot dead, a spokesperson said on Friday. "The preliminary autopsy report said that she died as a result of gunshot wounds to her body," Inspector Amanda Roestoff said. She would not elaborate on where or how many times.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=119212">Police draw a blank</a>
Over the past months this column has devoted space to the analysis of the way in which the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal have responded to the challenge of developing the body of South African law in the image of the Constitution. In this regard, judicial appointments become critical. And recent appointments point to progress on the part of the Judicial Service Commission.
The Sudanese government of Umar Hasan al-Bashir this week suffered a blow from leading human rights watchdogs, adding to the growing international fear that the president is not serious about achieving peace in Africa’s largest country. A human rights group says it has proof that Al-Bashir is supporting the conflict in Darfur.
The government of Equatorial Guinea said on Thursday it will file "criminal and civil suits" against foreign media for their allegedly "tendentious comments" on links between the country’s president and a scandal-plagued United States bank.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119172">The dictator’s Achilles heel</a>
South Africa’s Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin has dismissed speculation that negotiations between South African Airways (SAA) and Nigeria have reached a deadlock. SAA has an ambitious plan of creating a networking hub in Nigeria by acquiring a 30% stake in the country’s newest airline.
Finally, finally the festering sore that is the Darfur region in Sudan is getting the political attention it deserves. Already 10 000 people have died at the hands of a latter-day horror, the Janjaweed. But in the cacophony of rage, one voice is missing — that of Muslim communities who have been so vocal, both globally and locally, in their condemnation of the war in Iraq and the repression in Palestine.
Israel’s construction of its West Bank barrier went ahead full force on Wednesday, hours after the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for the structure to be torn down in compliance with a World Court ruling. An Israeli adviser said Tuesday’s resolution "signifies the bankruptcy of the UN".
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119087">UN calls for Israel to tear down wall</a>
The trial of 70 men accused in Zimbabwe of plotting to topple the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea was postponed on Wednesday until the following day, the defence lawyer said. "It’s just a postponement until tomorrow. We are going through the charges," lawyer Jonathan Samkange said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=119066">Zim 70 head for trial</a>
The South African government has welcomed the announcement by the United States State Department that the debarment of Armscor, Fuchs and Denel has been rescinded. The debarment was originally instituted in 1994 as a result of activities undertaken in the US by these companies during the pre-1994 arms embargo era.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119078">SA can now sell arms to the US</a>
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of Dubai is usually shopping — quality gold and electronic goods at bargain prices, made even cheaper by the fact that it’s all tax free — you never think about the fact that it is in the desert, right? If you can tolerate the heat, don’t mind the bigger-is-better mentality and have money to burn, Dubai is the place for you.
Anthony Tamba is helping to rebuild his brother’s house on the outskirts of Tubmanburg, a provincial town 60km north of the Liberian capital, Monrovia. He and his family were tired of living in one of the many camps for internally displaced persons on the edge of Monrovia, so they decided to start moving home instead of waiting for the launch of the government’s community resettlement programme.
"Let’s start off with something totally apolitical. Take a look at an interesting article that shows a rather different view of South Africa than the one you might be used to. <i>Read Marxists Destroy New South Africa</i>. (And before any readers whine at me, I’m not right-wing, I’m an anarchist. So my take is fairly simple.)" Read Fraser’s take on what offers online.
President Robert Mugabe castigated private charities, religious groups and other aid organisations on Tuesday for interfering in politics and said legislators will be asked to pass a law allowing authorities to close some groups and arrest officials. He said a new Bill to tighten controls on such organisations will be introduced soon.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=119007">Heard about Zimbabwe’s ‘revival’?</a>
Need a taxi in Togo? Climb aboard a Zemidjan, or "take me quickly", motorbike and get to your destination faster than you would do in a car. These small motorbikes, which take a single passenger on the pillion, are all the rage in this corner of West Africa. They also provide a regular source of income to thousands of people who would otherwise be jobless.