Economists are predicting that this election year will be a stable one, with the rand/dollar exchange rate hovering between R6 and R8, and the interest rate remaining steady. Standard Bank economist Monica Ambrosi said on Tuesday the rand would end the year on an annual average of R6,60 to .
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Tuesday pledged its full support for members of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) employed by Equity Aviation, who are on strike for the third week over wage increase demands.
US President George Bush on Monday renewed US sanctions imposed on Libya in 1986, saying that Tripoli must follow positive overtures on unconventional arms with ”concrete steps.” Sanctions — which include a freeze on Libyan assets in the United States — have been renewed annually since they were first imposed in 1986.
Sizzling precious metals prices helped gold and platinum stocks bound ahead on Tuesday, helping the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) recover from a soft start to trade in the black by noon. The rand also came off the morning’s best levels to help the local bourse.
A Zambian court has temporarily blocked the deportation of a British writer who was to be deported for allegedly insulting President Levy Mwanawasa in his newspaper column. Lawyer Patrick Matibini said he obtained a ”a stay of execution order” on Monday night from the Lusaka high court after he filed an application.
South Africa’s Department of Transport has reiterated its appeal to motorists to reduce their speed on national roads in anticipation of traffic exodus at the end of the holidays, government news agency BuaNews reported on Monday.
A bicycle bomb exploded on Tuesday on a street in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing at least 10 people, and shattering cars and windows in the area, witnesses and police said. The victims all appeared to be Afghans who were walking on the street when the blast occurred.
Spot gold on Tuesday touched a fresh 15-year high of $428,20 an ounce or the highest level since December 1988 due to dollar weakness against the euro, which touched a lifetime best of $1,2739 during the morning.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Johannesburg is sheltering about 400 abandoned or injured animals, the organisation said this week. They range from six-week-old puppies to cats and pigs and many other animals have been injured or frightened by fireworks.
The well turned out woman in trench coat and silky scarf stomped off the plane from Tokyo and headed for home in the suburbs of Virginia. ”It was too bad,” said Mrs Suzuki, the discomfort of a 12-hour flight compounded by the indignities of the new security measures on arrival. ”I felt like I was being treated like a criminal.”