South African economists have reacted to South Africa’s consumer price index excluding mortgage rate changes (CPIX) for February. CPIX was up 3,1% year-on-year for metro and other areas in February. "The figure is pretty much as expected, but the main concern is on the outlook for the next few months," said one economist.
A bookworm who hoarded 83 library books at his Hong Kong home and told librarians he had lost them has been given a suspended jail sentence, a news report said on Wednesday. The unemployed man was convicted of abusing library regulations in the first case of its kind in Hong Kong.
United States celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran, who shot to worldwide fame as head of the legal team that got OJ Simpson acquitted of murder, died on Tuesday at the age of 67, his family said. His wife, Dale, and his family appealed for him to be remembered as more than just the lawyer who got Simpson off murder charges.
Wayne Rooney was once a 12-year-old football fan who wanted to be Michael Owen. But, just seven years on, he will be with Michael Owen as the pair look to continue their flourishing England strike partnership in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Newcastle at St James’ Park against minnows Azerbaijan.
Venus Williams ended her sister Serena’s three-year reign at Key Biscayne on Tuesday with a 6-1, 7-6 (10/8) quarterfinal victory in the WTA Tour tier-one event.
It was the 13th meeting between the sisters and their first since Serena’s triumph in the 2003 Wimbledon final. Venus now trails in their career head-to-head 7-6.
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els once again duelled to a golfing play-off draw in Florida on Tuesday as darkness halted the Tavistock Cup match between crosstown rival golf clubs Lake Nona and host Isleworth. The annual showdown was declared an 8,5-8,5 draw, bringing back memories of 16 months earlier at the 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa.
Roger Federer recovered from a wobble 24 hours earlier when he missed a chance for a straight-sets win, but made sure mistakes were not repeated on Tuesday as he reached the quarterfinals of the ,5-million Miami Masters. The world number one was joined in the last eight by six-time winner Andre Agassi, the evergreen ninth seed.
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/199502/Zim_icon.GIF" align=left>Zimbabwe police on Tuesday arrested six youths for distributing fake flyers calling for an opposition boycott of elections in what an activist said may have been a ruling-party tactic to deter voters. "Boycott polls: we are not participating because Zanu-PF have failed to implement the SADC [Southern African Development Community] protocol," read the sheets.
Amid a backdrop of buoyant consumer and government spending, higher international commodity prices, lower inflation and stable interest rates in 2004, the South African Reserve Bank quarterly bulletin reviewing macroeconomic activity in 2004 paints a very positive picture of an economy experiencing accelerating growth.
The government will continue to consult with business and labour to overcome unemployment and increase investment in spite of a threat by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to strike against unemployment and the strong rand. Cosatu has warned of a ”job-loss bloodbath”.