The JSE was weaker at midday on Monday, after negative global sentiment saw it surrender early gains. Gold stocks bucked the trend, thanks to a higher bullion price. By noon, the all share index shed 1,12%. Industrials and financials fell 1,09% and 1,78% respectively, while the banks index tumbled 2,98%.
European stock markets fell on Monday as investors remained apprehensive in the wake of an escalation of the conflict in Lebanon which has led to new records for crude oil prices, dealers said. The price of London’s Brent North Sea crude oil hit a record high of $78,18 per barrel as violence continued to rage in the Middle East.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was on Sunday night seeking to orchestrate concerted European pressure to prod a reluctant France into bigger cuts in farm protection as stalled global trade talks entered a make-or-break two weeks. The French president said the summit was not the venue for trade talks and insisted that the G8 should confine itself to an annual -billion package of aid.
Three hundred British paratroopers landed in a presumed insurgent stronghold on Saturday during the biggest operation since the Taliban were toppled almost five years ago. The United States-led assault in Helmand made it clear that British troops are fully engaged in conflict in Afghanistan and not just in supporting civilian reconstruction.
On the vast expanse of water where the silty Amazon mingles with the coffee-coloured Rio Negro, Amazon Indians and church leaders floated out on Sunday to bless the waters and protect them from drought. Such a prospect seems incredible in Manaus, a Brazilian port city where both the Amazon and Rio Negro are more than 8km wide and 300m deep.
Lebanon shook under a new wave of air raids on Monday after Israel vowed a fierce response to Hezbollah guerrilla attacks with no sign of a let-up in a conflict that has killed about 200 people in six days. At least 21 people were killed as fighter jets slammed missiles into the port of Beirut, a military base in the northern city of Tripoli, and Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold in the east.
Over 40 people were killed in a car bomb attack and shooting at a crowded market in a violent town just outside Baghdad on Monday, police said. Witnesses in the small town of Mahmudiya, south of the capital, said they heard several explosions and heavy gunfire.
The United States has agreed to sell Taiwan 66 F-16C/D warplanes to boost Taipei’s self defence against China. Tsai Ming-shien, former deputy secretary general of the National Security Council, closed the deal on the F-16C/D warplanes early this month in California during annual Taiwan-US defence meetings.
The Harare government is to meet Russian energy officials this week to discuss energy investment in Zimbabwe’s power sector, Zim Online reported on Monday. It said officials from Russia’s TurboEngineering firm were expected to arrive in Harare on Sunday night.
Trade union Solidarity will hold a mass meeting of its members employed at petrochemicals group Sasol on Monday to decide on Sasol’s latest wage offer. Solidarity’s members are currently voting on the offer, which was tabled by Sasol last Thursday.