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Cape Town - South Africa, achieving only "medium human development", is the 121st best country in the world to live in, according to an index ranking 177 nations.

The UN Development Program's human development index, which was released in Cape Town on Thursday, ranked Norway as the world's best nation to live in for a sixth consecutive year, prompting the country's aid minister to tell Norwegians to stop whining about wanting more, reports Dow Jones Newswires.

Norway, Iceland, Australia, Ireland and Sweden ranked as the best five countries to live in, but Africa's quality of life has plummeted because of Aids, said the report.

The United States was ranked in eighth place, after Canada and Japan, in the report that rates not only per-capita income but also educational levels, health care and life expectancy in measuring a nation's well-being.

Norwegians earn 40X more than people in Niger

The Human Development Index, prepared by the UN Development Program, has been issued annually since 1990 and includes every country for which statistics are available, reports Reuters.

According to the index, South Africa's overall score was 0.653 on a scale that has a high of 0.965 for Norway and a low of 0.311 for Niger.

South Africa is in a group of countries categorised as achieving "medium human development".

Unsurprisingly, the countries at the top of the list are high income nations as people in richer countries tend to be healthier and have more educational opportunities.

According to the study, Norwegians earn 40 times more than the study's lowest-ranked country, Niger, live almost twice as long and have a literacy rate that is nearly five times higher.

SA's life expectancy 47 years

For the 31 countries with low human development, life expectancy is only 46 years - some 32 years less than in rich nations, the report said.

South Africa's life expectancy is 47 years and adult (15 and older) literacy is 82.4%. The report said the country's combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools is 77%.

According to Reuters some nations scored a rank above their income. Vietnam for example is poor but ranks above countries with a higher per capita income. Conversely Bahrain has an average income twice the level of Chile but ranks lower because it "under-performs on education and literacy", the report said.

Many of South Africa's neighbours to the north did not fare so well. Of the 31 countries at the bottom of the index, a total of 28 are from the south of the Sahara, reports China's Xinhua news agency.

Aids catastrophe

Since 1990, sub-Sahara Africa has stagnated, in part because of economic decline but mainly because of the "catastrophic effect of HIV/AIDS on life expectancy", the report said.

According to Dow Jones Norway's Aid Minister Erik Solheim said in a radio interview the top place should make Norwegians show humility. "Norway should be seen as a modern, rich and successful society, but should also be seen as a generous country. The world must see us as rich and generous, not rich and miserly."

Despite wealth, high levels of education, low unemployment, and an economic boom, Norwegians often complain of high taxes and of shortcomings in their cradle-to-grave welfare state, such as waiting lists at hospitals, and a lack of public care for both children and the elderly.

He said: "There are unsolved problems in Norway, but let us battle this culture of whining, and look at the future with optimism."

Iraq, Afghanistan not ranked

Solheim said instead of complaining, Norwegians should work on solving those problems, and to share their wealth with poorer countries. Norway is already one of the world's most generous foreign aid donors per capita, giving nearly 1% of its gross national product.

Norway, a nation of 4.6 million people, is the world's third largest oil exporter, after Saudi Arabia.

The five countries with the lowest scores were Guinea-Bissau in 173rd place, Burkina Faso as 174, Mali as 175, Sierra Leone as 176, and Niger 177.

The report was not able to rank 17 countries, such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, because there was insufficient data. - Reuters/Dow Jones/Xinhua/UN report

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Johannesburg - Domestic demand remains resilient and continued high levels of consumer and business confidence indicate that significant strength will be sustained in the domestic economy into the second half of 2006, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in its November Monetary Policy Review.

The SARB added that it was too early to fully assess the impact of the recent tightening policy.

While household consumption was forecast to ease a little and consumer spending to moderate a little, the SARB said sustained buoyancy in consumer spending was implied by the relatively high level of consumer confidence overall.

The SARB also highlighted that government consumption outlays could be expected to remain high given government's stated objectives as set out in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.

"Business conditions indicators suggest that business confidence remains upbeat," the SARB added.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Cape Town - The Airports Company of SA (Acsa) will take full responsibility for Tuesday's jet fuel leak at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg if negligence on its part is proved.

Acsa CEO Monhla Hlahla, at a press conference in Cape Town on Wednesday, said preliminary investigations indicated a mechanical failure was the cause of the spillage of an estimated 1.2 million litres of fuel into a storm-water drain at the airport and Blaauw Pan, a protected wetland about a kilometre downstream.

"The gasket (part of the valve) failed. A detailed investigation to determine the reason for the gasket failure has been initiated," she said.


News source: www.news24.co.za

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Baghdad - Iraqi lawmakers welcomed the resignation of United States defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday, saying they held him responsible for many of the war-torn country's ongoing woes.

Politicians were unanimous late on Wednesday in their pleasure at seeing the controversial American politician - one of the architects of the US-led invasion of Iraq - move on.

Venerable Shi'ite politician Mahmud Othman said: "The resignation came late.

"He should have made it right after the scandal of Abu Ghraib in the Spring of 2004.

"He should have been held responsible back then because he was the No 1 man in charge of Iraq and it might have been better if he'd handed in his resignation earlier."

For nationalist Sunni Arab politician Saleh al-Mutlak, a vocal opponent of the US-led invasion, the resignation represents an "awakening of the American conscious".

'Against humanitarian attitudes'

"Everything that Rumsfeld and his rule did in Iraq was against ethics and against humanitarian attitudes.

"It does not reflect the policies of a civilised country like the United States," he said from Dubai.

Mutlak laid much of the chaos engulfing Iraq at the feet of Rumsfeld and his decision to dissolve the old Iraqi army, leaving the country open to foreign intervention and destabilising elements.

"American policy in Iraq is an extension of the mistakes made by Rumsfeld who let the militias flourish and the regional intervention spread," he said.

"I would expect a new policy would come from this and also due to the results of the election."

Part of a much-larger system

Not all politicians, however, expected a sea change in US policy, and instead just saw Rumsfeld as part of a much-larger system.

"America's Middle East strategy is on a grand level," said Bassem Sharif, a member of the Shi'ite Fadhila Party, part of the dominant Shiite coalition.

"It is rarely affected by changing people, whether on a ministerial level or even by a change in president."

Independent Shi'ite lawmaker Sami al-Askari acknowledged that "Rumsfeld was the leader of the hawks and holds a lot of responsibility for the (mid-term elections) setbacks of the Republicans," but he doubted this represented a major turning point for US policy.

"A lot of Republicans have asked for his resignation before now," said Askari.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Johannesburg - Mango Airlines said on Wednesday it had made aviation history in South Africa by selling in excess of 130 000 tickets during its first week of operation, equating to 698 aircraft at full capacity.

The airline said it had sold, on average, more than 18 000 tickets a day since launching seven days ago.

"In response to demand, Mango also has made more low-fare tickets available on the Johannesburg/Durban, Cape Town/Durban/Bloemfontein routes," said the company and added that the low-cost airline was inspired by the public's response to its entry into the market.

Chief executive Nico Bezhuidenhout said he believed Mango also had achieved a "near-instant injection of energy in the aviation market" with the incumbent no-frills airlines responding by lowering their prices to undercut it.

One such airline that responded immediately by undercutting Mango was kulula.com, which lowered "some" of its tickets to R168 one way on the routes on which Mango would be operating while complaining that "only airlines that have no motive to make a profit" can afford to do so.

1Time also lowered "a limited number" of its tickets to R165, undercutting Mango by R4 a trip.

Not engaging in price war

But, Bezhuidenhout says Mango has not entered the market to engage in a price war.

"Low-cost air travel is sustainable through the airline's innovative operational efficiencies, a young fleet of fuel-efficient and technologically advanced Boeing 737-800's, effective use of assets and more-efficient seating configurations," said Bezhuidenhout.

He initially promised that Mango's tickets, after the launch special of R169 one-way trip between Johannesburg and the coastal cities of Cape Town and Durban, would be at least 20% lower than those of closest competitors.

But a quick random test of the prices proved otherwise.

A booking made on Saturday, November 4, for a Johannesburg - Cape Town trip on December 19 and returning December 28 for three people proved at least R300 more expensive than the closest rival.

Similarly, for a return trip Fin24 booked while typing this story - using the cheapest available flights - Mango came out the most expensive of its low-cost peers.

A return between Johannesburg and Cape Town - flying down on December 19 and returning on December 27 is R1 498 at Mango while it is R1 458 with kulula.com and R1 358 on 1Time.

'Not an accurate tool for comparison'

A colleague of spokesperson Hein Kaiser's initially told Fin24 that Mango's normal prices would not be more than R600 for a one-way trip.

Confronted with a single CT-JHB price of R763.66 she sounded surprised and promised to get back to us.

When asked to comment, Kaiser initially said their prices were sustainable while their competitors had cut the prices to ward off the stiff competition.

But, when this writer challenged Kaiser and pointed out that the prices compared were regular prices for the other airlines, Kaiser later sent us a statement: "I would like to point out that Mango aims to, on average, be 20% more affordable than our competitors.

"What this means is that comparing flights - sector and time-specific - would not provide you with an accurate tool for comparison as, if you research pricing tiers that most airlines use to manage yield, your comparison may simply mean that Mango's lower fares have already been sold out and you may be comparing different pricing tiers against one another."

It beats us how it is possible not to get an accurate result when looking for the cheapest flights on specific dates at the same time, as we have done.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Johannesburg - Although it looks as if there's a black middle class, the group doesn't really exist.

"It is a conceptual construction," Saki Macozoma told the Wits Business School on Tuesday.

Macozoma, former MP and current chairperson of Stanlib, asked the same question DF Malan asked 57 years ago - "Quo Vadis?" - but this time not about the Afrikaner, but about the so-called black middle class.

He reckons the group doesn't have enough of a "class awareness" and must rather be called a "category".

The group cannot ensure its own survival, he argued. Members of the group move up too quickly to form part of the high-income group, or fall back into a lower-income group.

Lacks political mobilisation

Moreover, the group lacks organised political mobilisation to defend the economic progress it made.

Recent criticism from ANC- and labour ranks targeted at the black middle class did not elicit a co-ordinated reaction.

The white bourgeoisie also don't see that their existence depends on the success of the black middle class.

The private sector can benefit most from a growing black middle class, still there's a subtle degree of resistance from business leaders, reckons Macozoma.

"The so-called middle class is greatly dependent on government's goodwill."

Cheque away from poverty

Macozoma also reckons that the group's position in the economy is very vulnerable. "Many people under the umbrella of the black middle class are actually only a cheque away from poverty."

The group doesn't hold many assets and continuously falls into the trap of reckless spending. "Education is the ticket to be part of a black middle class and a lack thereof makes one falls out of the bus."

What is known as the black middle class must at least grow at the same tempo as the economy, says Macozoma.

In this regard, he reckons black South Africans must not see Africa migration as a threat, but rather as an opportunity to grow the black middle class and build ties outside the country's borders.

"In every bar where I went in the rest of Africa, I heard someone speaking Afrikaans. The continent is open, the black middle class must also use it."

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Johannesburg - South African fuel imports have been stepped up to keep the market supplied for the festive season, Business Report said on Tuesday.

It quoted Colin McClelland, director of the SA Petroleum Industry Association, as saying the industry would leave no stone unturned to ensure adequate supplies.

McClelland said a fire late last month had damaged a unit at Sapref in Durban, the country's largest oil refinery and a 50-50 joint venture between BP and Shell, hurting diesel supplies.

The plant has a capacity of 180 000 barrels a day and accounts for one-third of the country's refining capacity.

Imports had been stepped up, and McClelland said he was not aware of service stations in Gauteng running dry.

During the third quarter, South Africa imported more than a million tons of petrol, diesel and jet fuel from the Middle East and the Far East.

The problem with fuel supplies was compounded when Sapref was shut down for maintenance between June and October.

"Importing fuel is not the problem and people should not be concerned. The industry is working hard to keep the market supplied and we are transporting petrol and diesel by truck from Durban harbour," said McClelland.

"It is not the ideal situation. Rail transport would be an option and Spoornet has said it will buy more engines and rolling stock."

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Washington - The US government, political parties and non-governmental groups have mobilised thousands of lawyers to monitor Tuesday's congressional elections and be ready for possible legal challenges.

The opposition Democratic party, which hopes to end the Republican majority in both chambers of congress, announced that it had recruited about 7 000 attorneys and law students.

The volunteers were recruited to "augment voter protection efforts" in certain states and districts, the Democratic party said.

Republicans have also called up lawyers, but the party's press office was not immediately able to indicate the structure of the deployment.

The department of justice has sent 800 lawyers to certain jurisdictions "to ensure that everything with regard to federal laws is being complied with", a spokesperson said.

"They are simply observing and maintaining contact with the state and local officials throughout the day to notify them of things they notice at the polls," the spokesperson said.

Minority rights groups also planned to mobilise hundreds of lawyers and volunteers in certain states and, like the political parties, set up hotlines to assist voters who encounter problems.

Tens of thousands of lawyers were recruited for the 2004 presidential election in which George W Bush was re-elected, four years after the Republican defeated Democratic candidate Al Gore in a hotly contested vote.

The 2000 election turned to catastrophe when the results in the decisive state of Florida were contested and held in limbo for 36 days of recounts and litigation.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Harare - The Zimbabwean government is to rewrite a controversial bill that would allow the state to eavesdrop on private phone conversations and monitor faxes and emails, says an officials.

The Interception of Communications Bill had come under a barrage of criticism since it was published in May, but a government official and a leading parliamentarian confirmed that it was now being amended.

Opposition member of parliament Welshman Ncube said: "The minister of transport and communications and attorney-general have agreed that a re-written document that takes into account amendments as suggested by the parliamentary legal committee be submitted.

"The document has not been withdrawn as such, but it has to take into account the suggested amendments." Ncube said the amendments were too many to list off the cuff.

MPs urged to reject the bill

George Mlilo, permanent secretary at the ministry of transport and communications, confirmed the legislation was being amended.

He said: "I am not sure when the amendments will be completed. The document is still going through various committee stages in parliament."

In August, rights groups and internet service providers urged parliamentarians to reject the bill, arguing it contravened fundamental rights and would drag the country back into the past if passed into law.

The proposed legislation would allow for the establishment of an intelligence centre "to monitor and intercept certain communications" from a variety of sources.

It would also empower the communications minister to issue a warrant for the interception of communication between individuals or organisations while simultaneously having the power to hear appeals against such interceptions.

Under the proposed law, telecommunication service providers would be compelled to install devices to enable interception of phone conversations, faxes and emails.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Pretoria - The fall in the value of South Africa's rand coupled with higher interest rates should help narrow the country's large current account deficit, but it remains at risk should commodity prices fall, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

"The adjustment of the rand should have an impact on the current account, together with the increase in interest rates in such a way that it will narrow the current account deficit over the next year," Saul Lizondo, the senior IMF adviser for Africa, told Reuters.

South Africa's rand has depreciated by about 14% against the US dollar so far this year, knocked by weaker emerging market sentiment and a current account shortfall of more than 6% of gross domestic product (GDP).

South Africa's central bank has hiked interest rates by 150 basis points to 9% since June to curb rising inflation in sub-Saharan Africa's biggest economy, and most analysts expect the upward cycle to continue into 2007.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky said high commodity prices had helped South Africa offset rising oil prices, keeping growth high. But its current account deficit put it at risk should commodity prices fall, he said.

"For South Africa, too steep a drop in its terms of trade is one of the potential risks going forward, particularly in light of the recent widening of the current account deficit," Lipsky told a conference on sub-Saharan Africa's regional economic outlook.

He also said strong capital inflows had helped finance the deficit but this could also change and was a risk.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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California - Google Inc plans to start selling advertising space in 50 top US newspapers, expanding the internet search engine's efforts to provide services off the web and making it easier for companies advertising online to also show off their products in print.

A group of more than 100 Google advertisers will be able to place bids for space in newspapers owned by The New York Times Company, Gannett, the Tribune Company, the Washington Post Company and Hearst during a three-month test period, according to news reports.

Many newspaper executives see the proposed system as a way to increase sales as they struggle with reader defection and competition from online advertising.

They downplayed any risks of letting Google handle their relationships with advertisers.

"We go into this with both eyes open," Mike Lemke, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Seattle Times Co, told the Wall Street Journal.

The move also positions Google - already the biggest seller of online advertising - to gain more customers during its pursuit of print, radio and television advertising.

'Print adds value '

"Print adds value the internet doesn't have," Tom Phillips, who runs Google's print operations, told The New York Times. "It is a different browse-able reading medium."

The newspaper program, to be launched this week, will enable advertisers to pick specific newspapers and specific sections for their ads.

Businesses would place bids on ad size, sections and days a newspaper is offering and the publication can view the bids and make selections.

The newspapers can choose to accept as many or as few bids as they like at any time.

Executives said the system allows newspapers to tap into a group of advertisers they don't currently get, including smaller businesses and retailers.

Google will not earn any revenue during the test, but when the system is formally introduced next year, it will take a cut.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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THERE has been a lot of speculation about whether the global porn industry will have a big influence on which of Sony Blu-Ray or Toshiba HD-DVD win the next-generation DVD format war.

This speculation is based on the fact that the pornographic industry played a key role in determining the winner of the video tape format war between Betamax and VHS in the 80's.

VHS allowed multiple, competing, licensed manufacturers and this was the biggest factor why it won the format war in the 80's. The porn industry supported the VHS format since the Betamax was proprietary right of Sony Corporation.

Those speculating that the porn industry will have an impact on the next format have forgotten one little detail that has changed the world in the last ten years: the internet.

The porn industry is today one of the most lucrative money-making industries on the internet. The reasons are that content, in this case porn, is cheaper, more accessible and its distribution significantly easier via the world-wide-web.

Porn industry not fussy

The core business model has not changed for these companies in the last 20 years; they want to get their content out there and do it as economical as possible. The second important thing to consider is that every second home has access to a computer, and if not a home computer, it would be the office computer.

In the 80's a video tape player was the only medium that could get porn movies into homes. Today you can use just about anything with a colour screen - from a cellphone, computer to an iPod.

The porn industry's theory is in fact very good, but it is just speculation and if truth be told, I think it will just stay there. The porn industry does not care which of the two format?s win the war; they will supply what ever format the consumer wants.

However, Digital Playground - a prominent pornographic movie studio - has already given their support for Blu-Ray.

TV gaming and home entertainment

If this war is going to be decided at ground level, by us the consumers, it will come down to TV gaming and home entertainment. The market for these two industries have grown exponentially over the last years, with easy access to affordable high-end home theatres and increased processing power.

How many people do you know that don't have a surround sound system in their home? Take the Sony PlayStation - never in history have so many parents been hassled by their children to buy this most popular gaming console for Christmas.

It seems that normal surround sound and flat screen televisions are just not good enough anymore, we want better sound, better screen quality, more interactive features and the list goes on.

This is everything that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray promise to deliver. Hollywood studios are currently remaking their old DVD titles into these new high definition movies. Unfortunately we don't have the players to play these movies yet.

More detail and faster graphics

As with computer games, TV games need more detail and faster graphics. The only problem with this is that you also need space to store this new content. Both new formats have sufficient capacity with Blu-Ray even more than the HD-DVD, and this will most likely be one of the downfalls for the HD-DVD format.

It has been said that Sony will be using the upcoming long awaited PlayStation 3, with a built-in Blu-Ray player, as a Trojan horse to get a high definition movie player into as many as possible households.

This will happen as fast as the children can hassle the parents (or the husbands their wives).

The race is on, the format that can settle themselves in as many as possible households first will win this race. It will not matter if it is with a new home theatre or a gaming console. By the time this fight is over the porn industry will come back and just distribute on the format that has proven itself as the winner.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Maybe they should climb into bed together and create a standard.
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