Nearly 60% of "foreign-brand" liquor found in four major Chinese cities is fake, according to a random check carried out by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The administration inspected 40 bottles, mostly cognac and whisky, in 19 retail outlets and found 23 with Hennessy, Remy Martin, Martell and certain Scotch whisky labels were fake.
The 17-year-old who has applied for the post of Bafana Bafana boss is surely just mocking the South African Football Association (Safa), but his name appears alongside some big names in world football on Safa’s list of 43 formal applicants. Ruud Gullit, the former Dutch international who won the FA Cup with Chelsea in 1997, had informal talks with Safa a few years ago and has always shown interest in this highly desirable but controversial position.
The curtain rose in Toronto on Thursday night on an epic musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings that has taken four years to produce, features 55 actors, 500 pieces of armour and 17 elevators, and cost about -million — making it almost certainly the most expensive stage production in history.
Ten trapped miners have been found alive 2km underground in a burning mine shaft at Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein, North West province. ”Yes, they have been found. All they said was that they were very hungry,” said Simmer and Jack mining company spokesperson Gail Strauss.
French President Jacques Chirac led a French walkout from the opening session of the European Union’s annual spring summit on Thursday night when a fellow Frenchman committed the grave offence of speaking English. Chirac picked up his papers and left, with Philippe Douste-Blazy, the Foreign Minister and Thierry Breton, the Finance Minister, in tow.
South Africa’s February 2005 producer price index (PPI) is expected to remain at January’s 5,5% year-on-year (y/y) increase. According to an I-Net Bridge survey of economists, the range is from 4,9% y/y to 5,9% y/y. The optimists expect the stronger rand to have kept factory gate prices subdued, while the pessimists believe rising oil and other commodity prices will lead to higher producer prices.
The protesters outside court vouching for embattled Jacob Zuma were largely female. Women with his photo emblazoned across their chests. Women honking vuvuzelas in his support. Selling T-shirts to raise funds for his defence. Burning images of the woman who dared lay a rape charge against him.
Government is to double the salaries of councillors and mayors across the country as part of its plan to enhance performance and improve the functioning of local government. Where small revenue streams might mean that some rural municipalities might struggle to pay the salaries, the Department of Provincial and Local Government has allocated R600-million to assist.
Tax evasion charges against Roger Kebble — father and business partner of slain mining magnate Brett Kebble — appear to be part of broader moves to shut down the remnants of the Kebble empire. Market rumours suggested Kebble Snr had been attempting to raise finance to make a bid to re-take JCI, the main vehicle for his son’s financial finagling.
Cars were torched and shops burnt in central Paris on Thursday night after the seventh big protest in eight days against the government’s controversial employment law ended in clashes between hooded youths and riot police. The youths grouped on the pavements on the Esplanade des Invalides and armed themselves with baseball bats and metal bars.