Rand Merchant Bank has entered into a loan agreement with two international banks to implement an affordable housing-loan scheme for low-income earners. Spokesperson Kevin Wiles said on Monday that the multimillion-rand scheme was to benefit South Africans earning between R2Â 000 and R8Â 000 per month.
United States officials warned on Monday the season’s first tropical storm could unleash ”life-threatening” rains as Cuban officials evacuated 25 000 people from Alberto’s path. About 400 people were evacuated in Havana where authorities are wary of storm damage to the old and often fragile housing stock in a densely populated city of more than two million.
Zimbabwe has signed a .3-billion deal with China to set up coal mines and three thermal power stations, a state newspaper reported on Monday. Zimbabwe’s economically ravaged electricity supplier has over the past three months resorted to extensive power cuts for up to six hours as it battles acute power shortages.
A blind Belgian man on Saturday claimed a place in the record books after completing a tour of France in a light aeroplane. Luc Costermans, a 41-year-old former businessman blinded two years ago in an accident, said he hoped to make it into the <i>Guinness World Records</i> book for his tour of the country, completed on Friday.
Fifteen employees of a rubber factory were on Sunday morning rushed to hospital with respiratory problems after inhaling tear gas in Elrode, Alberton, Ekurhuleni emergency services said. ”The affected people suffered skin and eye irritation,” spokesperson Sugan Moodley said.
Two young brothers aged 10 and six drove for more than 100km along one of Australia’s busiest roads to visit their grandfather, police said on Monday. The pair reached speeds of up to 90kph as they raced along the Newell highway in their grandmother’s station wagon, shocking fellow motorists who alerted the police.
Fernando Alonso made it seem normal: head to work, go for a little ride in the country, get back home in plenty of time for dinner. Except, he was driving at the British Grand Prix at speeds of up to 325kph, racking up another victory in the Formula One championship on Sunday.
Nuclear power station Koeberg was operating at 90% capacity on Sunday and would be fully operational by Monday, Eskom said. ”It is generating about 90% of its output … The staff at Koeberg will continue monitoring the situation and increase capacity to 100% by tomorrow [Monday],” said company spokesperson Fanie Zulu.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s independent media regulator accused the president and several vice-presidents of allowing TV and radio stations under their control to incite intolerance and hatred before the July 30 elections. The vote for president and the national assembly will be the first since independence from Belgium in 1960, and it is seen as a key step toward stability in the vast country.
The search was continuing on Monday morning for two men who crashed into the sea with their microlight aircraft near Port St Johns, the National Sea Rescue Institute said. ”Both men are missing and presumed to be deceased,” spokesperson Craig Lambinon said.