Online retail in South Africa grew by 20% in 2005, down from the 25% growth rate of 2004, as the industry finds itself lagging due to the high cost of broadband internet access in South Africa. The total spent on online retail goods in South Africa in 2005 was R514-million, up from R428-million in 2004.
A 50-year-old man appeared in court on Monday in connection with hoax letters and tapes sent more than 25 years ago to detectives hunting one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers. John Humble is accused of sending three letters and an audio tape to detectives investigating the ”Yorkshire Ripper” murders in and around the northern English city of Leeds in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Zimbabwean authoritites will relocate 700 families from villages in the southern districts of Chiredzi to make way for a transfrontier game reserve, an official said on Monday. ”The 700 families will be relocated if all goes well at the end of this month,” said national parks spokesperson Edward Mbewe.
Damien Martyn blazed 96 runs from 56 balls as Australia thrashed South Africa by 95 runs on Monday in the first Twenty20 international on Australian soil. Martyn clubbed seven fours and two sixes but fell agonisingly short of the first-ever Twenty20 century when he was caught at point off Monde Zondeki in the last over.
Three people were killed and 23 injured when a tour bus overturned on the N1 south of Springfontein in the southern Free State on Monday, police said. Captain Elsa Gerber said the bus was carrying tourists from Cape Town to Johannesburg. The passengers were from New Zealand, Italy and The Netherlands.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was breathing unassisted on Monday while being gradually awoken from a deep coma so doctors can assess the extent of damage to his brain after a massive stroke. Doctors say he could survive, but have ruled out the chances of him returning as prime minister.
Survivors of the devastating earthquake that shook Kashmir three months ago are showing signs of hypothermia and frostbite, a doctor said on Monday, as temperatures plunged below zero. Survivors living in tents and tin shacks next to their ruined homes said they are also concerned about avalanches.
There are strong signs indicating a prolonged period of high fixed investment in South African commercial property in the coming years, according to FNB property economist John Loos. Real non-residential property fixed-investment growth is forecast to accelerate to 9% in 2006.
More than 1 500 people were evacuated on Monday as Cyclone Clare began to pummel Australia’s north-west coast. Communities in the Pilbara region have been placed on red alert as meteorologists predicted winds of up to 195kph and waves high enough to breach coastal defences.
It is a mystery that has gone on for more than a century: did the old skull lodged in an Austrian basement really belong to the greatest composer of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? The results of DNA tests seeking to solve the mystery were broadcast on Austrian TV to coincide with the 250th anniversary this month of the composer’s birth. And the answer is: we still don’t know.