Four members of a gang believed to have blown up at least five ATMs have been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said two were arrested last Friday, a third on Monday and the fourth on Tuesday.
South African retail-sales growth jumped to 9% year-on-year in May at constant prices, official data showed on Wednesday, adding pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates further. Statistics South Africa said the sales growth surged from an upwardly revised 5,9% in April, lifting the number for the three months to May to 8,5%.
The latest inflation figures are higher than expected and breach the Reserve Bank’s target range of 3% to 6% for the second consecutive month. The main culprits of this inflationary pressure are oil and food prices, both of which are influenced directly by the rand- dollar exchange rate, writes Rejane Woodroffe.
Food price inflation is likely to remain above the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) inflation target band of 3% to 6% CPIX (headline consumer inflation less mortgage rate changes) for the foreseeable future, thus maintaining pressure on local interest rates and consumers’ budgets.
The South African Revenue Service has posted its simpler, shorter tax returns to individual taxpayers. More than 2,5-million tax returns have been sent to the South African Post Office and will be delivered to taxpayers around the country this month. By the end of July, almost four million IT12 S and IT12C returns will have been mailed.
Global warming could trigger hurricanes over the Mediterranean sea, threatening one of the world’s most densely populated coastal regions, according to European scientists. A new study shows a rise of three degrees Celsius in average temperatures could set the storms off in the enclosed Mediterranean in future.
Zimbabwean Vice-President Joseph Msika has warned that businesses in the country will suffer if they fail to stock their shelves with goods, reports said on Wednesday. Msika, who was speaking in the east of the country, said President Robert Mugabe’s government was at war with retailers and manufacturers.
McLaren-Mercedes have three very good reasons to seek victory at the European Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday. The Anglo-German team needs to rebound from losing the last two races to Kimi Raikkonen of rival Ferrari, it is the home race for Mercedes and they want to prove that an ongoing sabotage saga has not done them harm.
Sachin Tendulkar says it is a passion for cricket rather than a desire to keep adding to his already impressive list of records that provides the reason for him to extend his career. Tendulkar has had his motivation called into question recently after a poor World Cup in the Caribbean where India exited at the first-round stage.
The former Ferrari employee at the centre of the Formula One espionage saga says he is ready to name names in a bid to prove his innocence. Nigel Stepney has been the subject of an investigation by Italian police after being accused of supplying McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan with secret technical information on the Italian team.