The death toll in China from Tropical Storm Bilis has risen to 612, with another 208 people missing, state media said on Monday in another major reassessment of the impact of the devastating floods. Xinhua news agency, citing the nation’s disaster-relief commission, gave no reason for the sudden jump in the casualty numbers from the storm.
Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso is confident he can stop Michael Schumacher’s winning run in his Ferrari rival’s home German Grand Prix this weekend. ”I am feeling very optimistic. We had a strong first half of the season, and the key thing now is to keep going and finalise the job,” the Spaniard said in a Renault team preview to Sunday’s race at Hockenheim.
Johannesburg police have identified the gang that killed a Seychellois airline manager at the Rivonia off-ramp from the N1 highway on Saturday night. ”Behind the scenes, a lot is going on to try and apprehend the suspects,” said Superintendent Chris Wilken. But identifying them, establishing where they are from and apprehending them takes time.
SABMiller, the world’s second-biggest brewer, said on Monday that its Chinese affiliate CR Snow had agreed to buy Yinyan Brewery in China for ,3-million dollars. China Resources Snow Breweries had decided to also buy the brewing assets of Xiangwang Brewery for ,1-million dollars, United Kingdom-based SABMiller said in an official statement.
An estimated 60 000 North Koreans were left homeless and 30 000 hectares of farmland destroyed in recent flooding, according to a report from a United Nations relief agency on Monday. The United Nations World Food Programme said the worst-hit area last week was South Pyongan province in central North Korea.
The Congress of South African Trade Union’s (Cosatu) suggestion that South Africa should maintain high trade barriers for the purpose of developing its export sectors — purely because that is how developed countries did it in their day — is ludicrous, says the official opposition Democratic Alliance.
Burundi’s last active rebel group is demanding to have more than half of the slots in the country’s army in peace talks with the government that have repeatedly faltered on the issue of the military, officials said Monday. Representatives of the National Liberation Forces are also demanding the post of the national army chief as a pre-condition to reaching a permanent ceasefire.
Wealthy businessman Cyril Ramaphosa is preparing a bid for leadership of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress and by extension a run for the nation’s Presidency when Thabo Mbeki retires in 2009, associates said on Monday. The ANC will hold internal elections in December 2007, and whoever wins the party leadership is a shoo-in for the country’s Presidency.
Staff at Johannesburg International airport are to receive skills training to improve customer-service levels in preparation for the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup, South African government news agency BuaNews reported on Monday. The Airports Company South Africa has already made R3,5-billion available for infrastructure investment in preparation for South Africa’s hosting of the Cup.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been linked with both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, returned to training with Manchester United early on Monday but doubts still remain over whether he will be at Old Trafford for the start of the season. After his bust-up with Alex Ferguson, it was widely assumed the 30-year-old Dutch striker would have moved on by now.