The continued and broad-based weakness of the United States dollar in the international currency markets was one of the major factors that caused the rand to appreciate on a trade-weighted basis by 16% during 2003 and by 9% in the first seven months of 2004, said South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni on Tuesday.
Non-performing loans (NPLs) — loans that are more than 180 days overdue or considered irrecoverable — amount to 2% of the total loan book of South African commercial banks, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said in his inaugural address of his second five-year term on Tuesday.
China is mulling a -billion coal project with South African company Sasol that could give the energy-hungry mainland an additional six million tons of oil annually. In September a Sino-South Africa team will begin studying the feasibility of building two coal liquefaction production bases in northern Shaanxi province and Ningxia autonomous region.
Genghis Khan, long perceived as the world’s most notorious barbarian, was, in fact, a highly literate scholar of Taoist philosophy, according to a Chinese historian. He claims to have uncovered evidence that the leader of the Mongolian hordes could read and write.
The retail price of petrol is expected to rise by 22 cents a litre next week, the Minerals and Energy Department said on Tuesday. The department said the anticipated fuel price rises from midnight next Wednesday were the result of a sharp increase in the international prices of crude oil. This could be ascribed to the political tension in the Middle East, the question of sustainable international crude oil production, and the high demand for crude oil by China.
Finnish police said on Monday they were investigating a large-scale art fraud in which dozens of high-quality photocopies of works by artists such as Salvador Dalà were passed off as originals and sold for up to 10 000 euros each. Helsinki police said their prime suspect was the organiser of an exhibition in the Finnish capital that claimed to display original works by Dalà and such other famous artists as Chagall, Rembrandt, Picasso and Andy Warhol.
Police are likely to approach the Bloemfontein magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for an order to bury Paul Meintjes, whose family was told by a ”prophet” that he would rise from the dead. By Monday evening, the family had not met their deadline to contact the police with funeral arrangements, said Free State police spokesperson Captain Sam Makhele.
Three former champions size up Jenson Button’s skills and assess how far he can go during the rest of the formula one season
Ferrari’s technical chief says the team’s success this season has not been a walk in the park.
Eugene Terre’Blanche has been advised not to pursue legal action against prison officials who incorrectly arrested him for violating his parole conditions, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Terre’Blanche, who is on parole after serving three of a five year sentence for the attempted murder of security guard Paul Motshabi, was arrested on Sunday for going to the Pretoria High Court to get permission to travel out of his magisterial district.