21 December 2007
	Another Week

BARGAIN-HUNTING in Birmingham, England. Retailers across the country are slashing prices in pre-Christmas sales to boost revenue as consumers are cutting back on spending and using online stores more than ever before. AT HOME Jacob Zuma is voted president of the ANC at its 52nd conference in Polokwane in the most hotly contested elections in the party's history. ANC chairman Mosiuoa Lekota is heckled and defied by triumphal Jacob Zuma supporters at the opening session of the conference. The Bureau of Economic Research forecasts a bleak outlook for manufacturing exports next year. Acting national director of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe submits a (secret) report to justice minister Brigitte Mabandla on whether police commissioner Jackie Selebi should be prosecuted for alleged criminal links. The Ginwala commission gives Mabandla until January 15 to say whether Vusi Pikoli is fit to be national director of public prosecutions. SA sends more troops to reinforce UN peace efforts in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Doctors say the health department's recommended 5,4% fee increase is not enough to cover their costs. The Sexual Offences Act, which changes the definition of rape to be nongender-specific, came into effect on Sunday. ABROAD The European Central Bank offers unlimited funds at low rates to head off a liquidity crisis. US wheat futures break $10/bushel for the first time, raising fears of heightening food prices. UN-sponsored talks on climate change in Bali, Indonesia, end with agreement on further talks on a framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol. British troops pull out of Basra, the last of four provinces in which they were in charge of security, handing control to Iraqi authorities. Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan urges the use of public cash to assist struggling homeowners. International donors meeting in Paris pledge US$7,4bn in aid for the Palestinian Authority to back the Middle East peace process launched in Annapolis, US. Russian president Vladimir Putin agrees to serve as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev, whom he last week anointed as his successor as president next year. Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party endorses Robert Mugabe as its presidential candidate in next year's election. Researchers in New York say they have solved the mystery of why the flu infection spreads primarily in the winter months. It's because the virus is more stable and stays in the air longer when the air is cold and dry. SPORT West Indies (60-5) beat SA (58-8) in the first of two Twenty20 cricket internationals, at Port Elizabeth, in a 13-over maximum game. Tiger Woods (266) wins the year's final PGA tournament, the Target World Challenge in California. Argentina is Fifa's top-ranked team for 2007 - 21 points ahead of second-placed Brazil and 25 points clear of world champions Italy at third spot. Brazilian striker Kaka is named player of the year, beating Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.