France’s high-speed TGV train will try to smash its own world record and reach speeds of up to 580km/h on Tuesday in a move that manufacturer Alstom hopes will help it trounce its Japanese and German rivals in a rapidly expanding market. Weather conditions permitting, a black V150 train will rocket along a stretch of the new high-speed line between Paris and Strasbourg.
Phew. They used to sing: "Soon one morning, death comes a-creeping in the room." Lindelani Buthelezi’s sudden death from a combined stroke and heart attack (one doesn’t know which preceded which) has taken the wind out of the sails of the rest of the week for me and for many of us.
Unidentified gunmen killed five African Union peacekeepers in the Darfur region of western Sudan, the deadliest single attack against the force in one day since late 2004, an AU spokesperson said on Monday. The five were guarding a water point near the Sudanese border with Chad when they came under fire on Sunday, Noureddine Mezni said.
South African manufacturing expansion increased in March as sales orders remained high but optimism was waning, pointing to a possible slowdown ahead, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) showed on Monday. The PMI index rose to 60,5 on a seasonally adjusted basis after increasing to 60,3 in February, Investec, which sponsors the index, said in a statement.
The JSE gained momentum at midday on Monday led by paper maker Sappi and pockets of buying in heavyweight gold stocks. At 12pm, the all-share index was up 0,45%. Resources gained 0,10%, the gold- and platinum-mining indices firmed 1,13% and 0,89% respectively. Industrials gained 0,56% and banks and financials were up 1,23% and 0,95% respectively.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai called on Monday on South African President Thabo Mbeki to move rapidly to defuse the escalating political crisis across his northern border. "It is critical that President Mbeki act quickly and decisively to halt the suffering of millions of Zimbabweans," Tsvangirai told journalists.
Attention global shoppers: Argentina is offering first-class plastic surgery at up to 75% off United States and European Union prices, a fact that has booming numbers of tourists shelling out money for a nip or tuck. Sure, Argentina has all sorts of charm on which visitors dwell: its famous tango dancers, shopping, fabled grass-fed beef and non-stop nightlife.
World heritage status has turned the former Lao capital, Luang Prabang, from a ghost town into a tourism hub, but too much of a good thing could soon prove the kiss of death, say experts and residents. In recent years a trickle of backpackers has turned into a flood of tourists coming to the sleepy town of glistening Buddhist temples and palm-shaded French colonial mansions sitting pretty on a Mekong river peninsula.
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Irate West Indies fans called for captain Brian Lara to be sacked following the team’s third consecutive defeat in the Super Eights of the World Cup on Sunday. After Sri Lanka trounced the home team by 113 runs in Guyana, many fans drowned their sorrows with a traditional glass of rum.
A director of Randgold and Exploration Company Limited, Andrew Christoffel Nissen has resigned, the company said on Sunday. This follows an announcement made on March 15 that the company might merge with the Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company Limited, the company said in a statement.