United States scientists have increased the pressure on US President George Bush and other world leaders to tackle climate change by signing a joint statement calling on G8 nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The statement, from the science academies of the G8 countries, says the scientific evidence on climate change is now clear enough to compel their leaders to take action.
Quick-service restaurant group Famous Brands is confident of experiencing enough sustained demand to open 80 new restaurants per year on average across its franchises over the next three years, the company said in its 2005 annual report, published on Tuesday.
Local corporates are joining the international trend to greater use of money-market funds, according to Stanlib, one of the country’s leading providers of cash-management services to business. The global move to money-market funds has been highlighted in a recent United Kingdom survey.
World number one Roger Federer had a tough test against Sweden’s Robin Soderling in the first round of the ATP grasscourt tournament here on Tuesday before triumphing 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. Federer however, far from being unhappy, said the close game as he builds up for the defence of his Wimbledon title stood him in good stead for the rest of the tournament.
All economists surveyed by I-Net Bridge expect no change in interest rates at the end of the two-day meeting of the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, which started at 9am on Wednesday. This will be the ninth consecutive meeting at which the majority of economists have forecast no cut in rates.
Overnight floods in areas around Cape Town have temporarily displaced about 600 people, an emergency services spokesperson said on Wednesday. Geoff Laskey said heavy rains had affected about 20 shacks in Khayelitsha and about 100 shacks in Freedom Park in Mitchells Plain.
Former undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is making a boxing comeback less than three weeks before his 39th birthday with only one goal — reclaiming global heavyweight supremacy. Tyson portrayed himself as a more mature man and fighter on Tuesday in his first pre-fight public comments.
Train services were running relatively smoothly on Wednesday, a Metrorail spokesperson said as a countrywide strike entered its third day. Thandi Mlangeni said 97% of trains were running in the Witwatersrand area, 60% in Tshwane, 88% in Durban and 21% in Cape Town.
Former president Nelson Mandela is leading a last-ditch attempt to save Deputy President Jacob Zuma, the Business Day website reported on Wednesday. It said this came after President Thabo Mbeki said he would announce his decision on Zuma’s fate after his return from a two-day state visit to Chile.
A man’s leg and part of his torso fell from a South African Airways (SAA) jetliner on to a suburban New York home on Tuesday as the aircraft prepared to land at John F Kennedy airport, authorities and the airline said. More remains were found inside the wheel-well of the SAA aircraft when it landed at JFK, arriving from Johannesburg via Dakar, Senegal.