31.   Deng, meanwhile, remains in secretive isolation, the subject of endless rumours concerning his health and imminent demise.

32.   Rumours of his imminent demise continue to affect regional stockmarkets, dogged by fears of protracted power struggles after his death.

33.   Rumours of the imminent demise of the financial rand sent the commercial rand into a nose dive Thursday as the market struggled to supply a massive demand for dollars.

34.   Since then, regular rumours of his death or imminent demise have circulated.