More than 500 people have been killed in the most devastating floods to hit China for a decade, the Red Cross said on Monday, launching an emergency appeal for aid to the millions left homeless. ”Over the past two months, more than 200-million people have been affected and over 500 have been killed nationwide,” it said in a statement.
Hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to stay in his post despite a crushing defeat for his ruling camp in an upper house election, but policy gridlock loomed and Abe’s grip on his job was still uncertain. Voters outraged at a string of government scandals and gaffes and the bungling of pension records stripped Abe’s coalition of its upper house majority.
Angloplat, the world’s biggest platinum producer, posted an expected 47% jump in interim profit on Monday, but higher costs and a cut in forecast output due to labour and safety issues cast a shadow. Angloplat shares rose 1,1% to R1 011 by 8.25am GMT, underperforming a 2,64% gain in rival Implats.
The Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup campaign is under threat of being derailed because of a major rift involving the coaching staff, which has prompted the intervention of Australian Rugby Union officials. Also, many senior players have lost confidence in several members of the Australian team management, writes a columnist in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The South African government has tabled six new pieces of legislation to greet MPs as they return from their month-long winter break to start the new term on Tuesday. The Bills, with one exception, are all amendment Bills tidying up earlier legislation or making arrangements to deal with problems that have arisen since the original laws were passed.
Somalia’s exiled opposition leaders on Monday lashed out at the international community’s support for the Ethiopian-backed interim government and defended the deadly insurgency against Mogadishu. "The resistance of Somali people is a legitimate response" to Ethiopian occupation, former Parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden said.
Brewing giant SABMiller reported a 13% rise in first-quarter underlying beer volumes on Tuesday, but said revenue growth was partly offset by higher input costs and increased investment. ”The group has made a strong start to the year,” the world’s second-biggest brewer said in a trading update for April to June.
Ingmar Bergman, one of the most influential film directors of the 20th century, died on July 30 at his home on the Swedish island of Fårö, his sister Eva told the TT news agency. He was 89. Bergman was widely acclaimed for films such as The Seventh Seal (1957) and Fanny and Alexander (1982), which won four Oscars.
An alleged Cape Town burglar, using a stolen police uniform, apparently worked in a police station for seven months, a media report said on Tuesday. Ricardo Voight (24) arrived at the Ocean View police station in November last year, dressed in a full police uniform allegedly stolen a few days before.
At midday, the JSE was still firm, but was a tad lower than its strong opening this morning as the financial index started to pull back. At 12.01pm, the all-share index was 0,98% better as resources added 1,94% and the platinum-mining index climbed 1,20%. However, the gold-mining index was off 0,64%.