Pretoria | Tuesday SOUTH Africa will hold talks with its neighbours to promote a regional free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States amid “general support” for the plan, Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said on Monday. Speaking after lengthy talks with US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick in Pretoria, Erwin said South Africa’s partners […]

The JSE’s gold index tumbled by 5,4% by noon Monday after the price of bullion retreated to $297,75/oz. The JSE overall index dropped by 1% to 10921 following a weaker Wall Street close on Friday.With the rand stronger at R11,35/$, the JSE’s resources counters dropped almost two percent while the banks and financial services index […]

FRANCE has struck a deal with the Egyptian government to renovate the main subway line in Cairo after 15 years of operation have taken their toll, both sides said on Monday. Under a contract to be signed here on Tuesday, the French engineering group Alstom will do most of the work to repair 52 three-carriage […]

Al Ayatt | Wednesday At least 200 people were killed early on Wednesday in a fire on a train south of the Egyptian capital Cairo, according to a toll given by firefighters. Firefighters and an AFP reporter counted 123 bodies lying at the scene of the accident, around 70 kilometres south of Cairo. Firefighters said […]

London | Wednesday AFRICA-watchers in London said that EU sanctions on President Robert Mugabe’s regime would sting his pride but have a limited effect, while the anti-corruption group Transparency International warned of reprisals from the Zimbabwe government. Mugabe was targeted on Monday by European Union sanctions, which include a freeze on the overseas assets of […]

Cape Town | Tuesday FINANCE Minister Trevor Manuel will have significant room for both tax cuts and higher spending in Wednesday’s Budget, says Old Mutual Asset Managers. Speaking during the company’s annual pre-Budget presentation on Tuesday, economist Rian le Roux said the minister could have as much as R14,5-billion ”to work with”. Of this, R11-billion […]

Cape Town | Wednesday THE benefits in Wednesday’s Budget were aimed mainly at impoverished South Africans, the elderly and the disabled, but it also contained significant tax relief for middle-income earners. The government also budgeted for R12-billion from the proceeds of privatisation in 2002/03, according to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. He said in […]

Johannesburg | Tuesday South Africa’s ruling party Monday said its position on Aids was correct, after its top leadership, including President Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela met over reported tensions on the issue. African National Congress (ANC) representative Smuts Ngonyama said the meeting agreed that the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to pregnant women at test […]