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/ 4 December 2006
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had not envisaged how fast Beijing’s traffic situation would worsen, and are waiting to see the city’s plans for avoiding gridlock during the 2008 Summer Games. Hein Verbruggen, who leads the IOC’s coordination commission for the Beijing games, said the rise in vehicle numbers had taken the IOC by surprise.
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/ 4 December 2006
South African car makers are set for another record sales year despite a flood of economic data sealing the case for another interest rate hike this week — the fourth this year. Some economists believe that South Africa’s monetary authorities will continue hiking interest rates well into the New Year in a bid to force consumers to tighten their purse strings.
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/ 4 December 2006
Zimbabwe police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri has warned that President Robert Mugabe’s government faces revolt by disgruntled junior security officers following the awarding by Harare of hefty salaries to youths from a controversial national-service training programme.
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/ 4 December 2006
The Independent Democrats (ID) says it has been vindicated by the confirmation that national police commissioner Jackie Selebi was driving a stolen car. Member of Parliament and chief whip Lance Greyling said it was "by no means the first time the ID has been vindicated in its anti-corruption campaign".
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/ 4 December 2006
No one will ever know how many Chinese men — and women — were sexually satisfied after taking the American Number One, Male Exclusive, Great Big Brother pills sold by Xi Yongli. When the product was raised in court recently, it was not its potency that was on trial. Rather, it was the legality of using a drug better known as Viagra.
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/ 4 December 2006
The world’s newest country, Montenegro, is threatened by a possible constitutional crisis because its leaders can’t agree on the name of the language they speak, reports said on Monday. The government, which led Montenegro to independence earlier this year, wants to make the official language Montenegrin — but a large majority of the tiny Balkan state’s people believe they speak Serbian.
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/ 4 December 2006
A ”significant” slowdown in year on year growth in new car sales suggests that interest rate increases are starting to affect demand, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said on Monday. The November 2006 new car sales reflected a relatively small improvement of 2,1% compared to new cars sold during November 2005.
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/ 4 December 2006
Heavily armed Fijian troops put up roadblocks throughout the capital on Monday night as fears of a fourth coup in 20 years gripped the South Pacific nation. Troops cut off several roads entering Suva and began guarding the president’s residence, a Reuters witness said
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/ 4 December 2006
A Chinese coal mine has made the news for a reason other than the grim series of accidents nationwide — it is claiming a world record for the the highest number of simultaneous weddings held underground. The Datong Coal Group in Shanxi province held weddings for 10 miners on Saturday 300m down the pitshaft, the People’s Daily said on Monday.
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/ 4 December 2006
After reaching a new closing high on Friday, the JSE lost ground at the opening on Monday in line with its global counterparts. Dealers said that uncertainty about the United States economy as well as Thursday’s interest rate decision locally are weighing on the bourse.