South African new vehicle sales dropped by 15,1% to 41 813 units in December compared to the same month in 2006, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Wednesday. Including sales from Associated Motor Holdings — total sales were 44 926 vehicles in December.
Roger Federer is poised to advance to within one Grand Slam of Pete Sampras’s record of 14 in the year’s opening major tournament at the Australian Open, which gets under way in Melbourne on Monday. Federer has been unchallenged as world number one since February 2004 and won three of last year’s four Grand Slams for the third time in four years.
Caribbean coral reefs have suffered significant damage from over-fishing and run-off from agricultural land, according to a study of 322 sites across 13 countries. The study provides compelling evidence that proximity to a large human population spells bad news for the survival of reefs.
Sri Lanka has increased its tight security arrangements for members of Parliament following the death of a Cabinet minister in a suspected Tamil Tiger bomb attack. The number of bodyguards and vehicles assigned to lawmakers was stepped up after Tuesday’s bombing outside the capital killed Nation Building Minister DM Dassanayake.
Police were called to churches around the Zimbabwean capital Harare last weekend to halt skirmishes between supporters of a bishop who is a close ally of President Robert Mugabe and followers of a rival cleric. Tensions rose after followers of Anglican Bishop Nolbert Kunonga insisted on holding services even though authorities have decreed Kunonga is no longer a member of the church.
He has outed himself as an immigrant’s son, a jogger, an unashamed right-winger and an Elvis-loving pro-American. But on Tuesday, under the twinkling chandeliers of the Elysée Palace, Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled his latest taboo-breaking persona: President in Love.
A pig genetically modified in China to make it glow has given birth to fluorescent piglets, proving such changes can be inherited, state media said on Wednesday. The sow was one of three pigs who had fluorescent green protein injected into their embryos when they were bred in December 2006 by scientists in north-east China.
A British adventurer who reached Timbuktu in a truck fuelled by chocolate said on Tuesday he now wants to travel to China on a rubbish-powered aircraft. Andy Pag (34) and his sidekick, John Grimshaw, made it back from the remote city in Mali on Monday. The engineer-turned-journalist wasted no time in announcing his next expedition aimed at highlighting the benefits of biofuels.
Leasing company Awas (Ireland) is expected to announce a deal to buy up to 100 Airbus jets worth $6,9-billion, the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> reported on Wednesday. The news came after aerospace group Boeing said it delivered 441 commercial airplanes in 2007 as part of a tight race with Europe’s Airbus.
The government revised its submission to the Ginwala inquiry into the suspension of National Prosecuting Authority boss Vusi Pikoli after its first draft did not contain enough information, a media report said on Wednesday. The report said Pikoli’s advocate Wim Trengove had complained that the government’s submission was ”too bare”.