Brazil, India and South Africa aim to boost business between the fast-growing emerging economies that are also key players in now deadlocked global trade talks, Brazil’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Brazil’s Celso Amorim said after talks with his counterparts in New Delhi that the nations agreed to raise trade flows 50% by the end of the decade.
Having completed their Tri-Nations campaign in Christchurch on Saturday, the Springboks will now turn their attention to France and the World Cup, starting in Paris in September. While the 1995 world champions failed to make a telling impact on the southern hemisphere rugby championship, coach Jake White will be fairly happy with his team’s performance.
South Africa’s rugby team, smarting from a weekend defeat at the hands of New Zealand, look set to unleash their own version of the All Blacks’ famous haka, based on an old Zulu war dance. Springbok coach Jake White said he had asked the rugby authorities about reviving a dance that was last used more than 80 years ago in order to psyche up his players.
Striker Robbie Keane and his Tottenham Hotspur teammates will be looking for goals when they take on defending champions Kaizer Chiefs in the opening fixture of this year’s Vodacom Challenge at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday (3.15pm kick-off).
The JSE is following a trend where overseas markets are generally lower, and with the all-share down 1,01%, the local bourse seems to be sitting and waiting for United States markets to open as well as the release later of US data. At 12pm, the all-share index was 1,01% weaker at 29 565,770.
Standard Chartered Bank has been named the Best Emerging Markets Bank, one of the top global awards at the 2007 Euromoney Awards for Excellence. Standard Chartered also won a regional award for the Best Bank in Africa and a country award for the Best Bank in Ghana.
Britain has declared diplomatic war on Russia by expelling four envoys from London and failing to respect Moscow’s constitutional ban on extradition, Russian newspapers said on Tuesday. Commentators accused Britain of double standards for punishing Russia over its refusal to hand over the chief suspect in the murder of former agent Alexander Litvinenko.
Australia have brought back fullback Chris Latham for the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup showdown against the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday. Latham has been bracketed with Adam Ashley-Cooper and could be played off the bench if coach John Connolly judges he is not yet ready for the starting lineup.
Zimbabwe, who have been out of Test cricket since January 2006, have dropped out of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) test rankings list. Zimbabwe do not figure in the ICC’s annual list released on Monday because they have played two Tests fewer than the minimum of 10 required for inclusion in the table.
British actor Ian McKellen on Tuesday urged tightly-governed Singapore to loosen up and repeal its archaic laws barring homosexual acts. The openly gay McKellen indicated the laws may affect a vibrant business city like Singapore, which is vying with other Asian cities to draw more foreign talent and professionals.