The favourite to win the Palestinian presidential election, Mahmoud Abbas, expressed hope on Thursday that peace negotiations with Israel could resume soon after the winner is declared on Monday. Abbas, who is about 40% ahead in the race to succeed Yasser Arafat, said he sees Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a potential peace partner.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was awash with red at midday on Friday, hit by a recovery in the rand. Volumes were extremely light, however, and were only expected to pick up next week. At noon, the all-share index was 0,67% weaker. Resources retreated 0,8%, with the gold- and platinum-mining indices slumping 1,94% and 1,36% respectively.
South Africa has many reasons to feel optimistic about 2005, with the economy gaining momentum, society becoming more unified and the country’s politics "returning to open dialogue", says Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon. "However, South Africans at home and abroad have received mixed messages from President Thabo Mbeki."
A South African law firm that acted as a conduit for information between a ”whistleblower” and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is instituting legal action against the central bank. It alleges the bank withheld its client’s payment after helping the police nab a high-profile businessman and political figure.
Nedbank says that while the short-term inflation outlook remains encouraging, the strong growth in credit poses dangers to longer-term price stability and it therefore feels that interest rates will be left unchanged in 2005. It says that as imports are rising rapidly, reserves in relation to import cover have remained static for several months.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information, Jonathan Moyo, is suing Munn Marketing for Z$100-million (about R109 000) for allegedly distributing in Zimbabwe the <i>Sunday Times</i> of South Africa — a newspaper he is also suing for carrying an allegedly defamatory article. Moyo said the article insinuated that he does not care about the people of Matabeleland.
The Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) is not considering a civil claim against the English cricket fan who scrawled swastikas and racist graffiti on seats at Newlands. ”The less we have to do with this person the better,” WPCA president Norman Arendse said on Thursday after Matthew Weller was fined R4 000 or six months in jail.
The South African Communist Party has launched a year-long programme to commemorate Joe Slovo’s life, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio news reported on Thursday. Slovo, the SACP’s former chairperson and South Africa’s first housing minister, died on January 6 1995.
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi paid tribute on Thursday to former president Nelson Mandela for his courage in announcing the death of his son to Aids. Makgatho Mandela (54) died in a Johannesburg clinic on Thursday. He was Mandela’s eldest child.
Mandela admits son died of Aids
Nelson Mandela’s son dies
Zimbabwe Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo’s bid to appeal against his exclusion from the ruling Zanu-PF’s primary elections in Tsholotsho will not succeed once the party’s central committee adopts the decision to reserve the seat for a woman candidate, Zanu-PF’s secretary for administration said on Thursday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=177561">Sunday Times article upsets Moyo</a>