12 June 2009
	Another Week

STUDENTS in Wuhan, Hubei province leave after writing a paper on the second day of China's national college entrance examinations. The exam kicked off on Monday with about 10,2m registered candidates. AT HOME Justice minister Jeff Radebe halts JSC interviews for new judges due to concerns over race and gender representivity in the judiciary. Business confidence in May was slightly down to 81,8 on the Sacci index. The index averaged 81,9 in January-May - 11,7 points lower than the first five months of 2008. Cosatu calls for more interest rate cuts to lift growth and save jobs, and says Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni's contract should not be renewed. President Jacob Zuma, in his first state of the nation address, says job creation and fighting poverty will be government's main focus. He confirms the IDC has developed a programme to fund companies in distress as a result of the global recession. Adcock Ingram withdraws its R2,13bn cash offer to buy Indian generic drugs company Cipla Medpro. Sanlam's headline earnings per share for the four months to end-April fell 23%, and new business rose 2%. The competition tribunal approves the JSE-Bond Exchange of SA merger. ABROAD The largest mass transit project in the US gets under way with the help of stimulus money. The US$8,7bn second passenger rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River will link New Jersey with New York. German retailer Arcandor, the owner of Thomas Cook, files for bankruptcy, putting 50 000 jobs at risk. The global airline industry is likely to lose $9bn this year, says Iata. Pension funds opposed to Chrysler's sale to Fiat ask the US supreme court to block it. US unemployment in May reaches 9,4%, a 26-year high. Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt and three others are found responsible for the 1998 Omagh bomb in which 29 people and a pair of unborn twins died, after a landmark civil case. Twelve relatives are awarded £1,6m in damages. Lebanon's pro-Western coalition led by Saad Hariri wins 71 seats in the 128-member parliamentary election. Hezbollah wins 57 seats. UK prime minister Gordon Brown reshuffles his cabinet after six ministers resign. Nobel economics laureate Paul Krugman says the economic slowdown could last 10 years, and calls for a second, $500bn, stimulus package. Brazilian officials recover 29 bodies and part of the tail of the Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic. The first Guantanamo detainee to face a US civilian trial, Ahmed Ghailani, arrives in New York. Died: Gabon's president Omar Bongo, in Spain. SPORT Jensen Button (Brawn) wins the Turkish Grand Prix, his sixth win in seven races. With his 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 win over Sweden's Robin Soderling in the French tennis final, Roger Federer equals Pete Sampras's record 14 grand slam singles titles. Federer is only the sixth man to win each of the four majors. World football champions Italy arrive in SA for the eight-nation Fifa Confederations Cup competition, which starts on Sunday. Mpumalanga Black Aces beat Thanda Royal Zulu 3-0 in play-offs to win promotion to the Absa Premier League.