Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is ready for "immediate negotiations" with Israel and urges its new government to abstain from any unilateral action in the West Bank, a spokesperson said on Thursday. "President Abbas has expressed the readiness of the Palestinian Authority to resume immediate negotiations with Ehud Olmert’s new Israeli government," Nabil Abu Rudeina told Agence France-Presse.
The South African Chamber of Business’ (Sacob) business confidence index (BCI) increased by 2,2 index points to 103,1 in April this year, Sacob said on Thursday. "South Africa is fortunate that the higher gold price partly offsets immediate difficulties with the high crude oil price," Sacob said.
According to the latest Absa house-price index, nominal house price growth of 12,8% year-on-year was recorded in April this year compared with a growth rate of 13,7% in March, Absa said in a report on Thursday. This was the lowest year-on-year growth since January 2000 when it was 11,8%.
International housewife superstar Dame Edna Everage issued a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal on Thursday of a claim her alter ego and creator punched a photographer. Australian actor Barry Humphries, who has played the purple-haired character since the 1950s, hit out at a freelance celebrity photographer in Sydney on Wednesday.
South African Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana is to visit an artisanship skills training centre on Friday as part of his monitoring of service delivery at establishments falling under his department. The ministry said the advent of the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition, a skills-empowerment arm of the government’s economic growth plan, had highlighted the importance of artisanship.
In our letters pages this week, we record a rather different reaction to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s complaint about South Africa’s white community — different, that is, from the standard howls of outrage and furious protestations that whites are "good citizens".
Nepal’s Cabinet declared a ceasefire on Wednesday with Maoist rebels and urged them to open peace talks with the government, Deputy Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli said. Terrorism-related charges will be dropped against the insurgents, and the government will end its designation of the Maoists as a terrorist group.
A United States Congress-mandated commission called on the government to take "aggressive action" against Saudi Arabia for alleged religious-freedom violations and warned that religious rights were under threat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
South Africa’s banking sector continues to be profitable, well-capitalised and able to withstand considerable adverse shocks, according to the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) latest <i>Financial Stability Review</i>. The central bank said on Wednesday that the favourable macroeconomic environment had contributed towards improved asset quality, and provisioning against overdue accounts was considered adequate in aggregate.
Chad’s incumbent candidate, Idriss Déby Itno, cast his vote on Wednesday in presidential elections boycotted by opposition parties and shadowed by Sudan-backed rebels committed to toppling Déby from power. Virtually certain of victory, Déby hailed the fact that the elections were going ahead despite the boycott and repeated clashes with United Front for Change (FUC) rebels.
The outlook for property performance remains bullish, especially in the area of commercial property, according to First National Bank (FNB). This is based on FNB’s view of further mild declines in interest rates and real economic growth of between 4% and 5% per year for the rest of the decade, says FNB property strategist John Loos.
A rash of cases of Malaysian women being tricked into having sex with fraudulent "healers" has prompted a warning from authorities for women to beware of smooth-talking con men. In the latest case, a 41-year-old woman was tricked into having sex dozens of times with a medium who claimed to be the "Ninth Emperor of the Kingdom of God".
About 101 suspects accused of involvement in deadly riots in East Timor last week are being detained after 25 more arrests were made, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Thirteen of those held were among nearly 600 soldiers, or a third of the tiny nation’s armed forces, who deserted the army in February complaining of discrimination.
A 33-year-old Malaysian man who married a 104-year-old woman said it was "God’s will" that he tie the knot with someone old enough to be his great grandmother. "It may seem strange to those who don’t understand us but I have found peace since we got married two months ago," said Muhammad Noor Che Musa.
The MTN Group and Investcom on Tuesday announced a landmark deal to create the pre-eminent mobile operator in the emerging markets of Africa and the Middle East. The transaction will build on the complementary strengths of each company to create a leader in the emerging-market telecommunications arena.
‘I believe the children are the future." That’s how the George Benson song goes; clearly he (and Whitney Houston after him) were not averse to stating the obvious. Nor, it seems are South Africa’s talk-show optimists, ever in search of a formula to soothe the cracked skin of national consciousness.
Pakistan and India agreed to work towards finalising a draft agreement reducing the risk of an accidental nuclear conflict between them at the end of two days of talks on Wednesday. "The two sides held detailed discussions on the draft text of an agreement," said a joint statement.
China’s first face transplant recipient, a hunter who was badly mauled by a bear, is recovering faster than expected and has even managed to smile, state media said on Wednesday. The Xijing Hospital in the northwestern city of Xi’an said the physical and mental state of Li Guoxing (30) was "pretty good".
The United Nations special humanitarian envoy for the Horn of Africa on Wednesday kicked off a tour of the drought-stricken region in Eritrea where concerns are mounting that food aid may be rotting in warehouses. Since September, Asmara has cut the number of free food aid recipients by 95%, from 1,3-million to about 70 000.
South Africa’s producer price index (PPI) rose by 5,4% year-on-year (y/y) in March from a 5,5% y/y increase in February, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Wednesday. The PPI rose 0,4% on a monthly basis after February’s monthly rise of 0,2%.
The unit trust industry has had another bumper quarter with the most inflows ever received. The industry took R19,7-billion of new investments, of which R13-billion came from retail sales, which are from individual -investors. However, this is not an indication that South Africans are starting to save more, writes Maya Fisher-French.
The unit trust industry has had another bumper quarter with the most inflows ever received. The industry took R19,7-billion of new investments, of which R13-billion came from retail sales, which are from individual -investors. However, this is not an indication that South Africans are starting to save more, writes Maya Fisher-French.
Zimbabwe State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa has reiterated threats that the government will use armed soldiers and police to crush mass protests planned by the opposition for the winter. Speaking to ZimOnline at the weekend, Mutasa said no one should expect the government to "keep its security organs in the camps" in the face of opposition-instigated protests meant to oust it.
Having starved himself and been frozen in ice, United States magician David Blaine now plans to spend seven days submerged in a water-filled container in New York. The latest stunt by the renowned illusionist will seem him enter a 2.,m high acrylic sphere on May 1 and remain submerged for a week.
South African health-care group Netcare has acquired a controlling interest in the leading private hospital operator in the United Kingdom — General Healthcare Group (GHG) — from BC Partners. GHG is the leading provider of private acute care in the UK with a national network of 49 hospitals. Its facilities and doctor base enable it to offer a comprehensive range of medical and surgical services across the UK, Netcare said on Tuesday.
By month-end Zimbabwe’s year-to-year inflation rate will have topped 1 000%, according to calculations by the regionally represented Imara financial-services group. Fungai Tarirah, chief investment officer of Harare-based Imara Asset Management Zimbabwe, says inflation benchmarking by some of the country’s larger companies actually puts the rate as high as 1 600%.
The increase in South Africa’s consumer price index excluding mortgage rate changes (CPIX) for metro and other areas eased to 3,8% year-on-year (y/y) in March after increasing by 4,5% y/y in February, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.
First National Bank on Tuesday unveiled a R100-million technology investment programme to expand its ATM network infrastructure across the country during 2006. FNB said the new ATM machines would be able to identify the customer by his or her name.
Earlier this month, the Sudanese authorities forced the Norwegian Refugee Council to discontinue its humanitarian aid operation in the war-torn region of Darfur. In the short term, the rapidly worsening crisis in Darfur will have serious humanitarian consequences for the civilian population.
The South African Advertising Research Foundation, known for their branded AMPS surveys, are about to launch a cutting edge outdoor media survey that will make gathering information from bus shelters and billboards a breeze.
South African Airways will introduce a daily service on its route between Johannesburg and Washington-Dulles International airport. As a result, it will discontinue its daily service to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. The airline’s route between Johannesburg and Washington was launched at the end of June 2005 with four flights a week, including an operational fuel stop in Accra, Ghana.
China has agreed to supply Iran with 50 passenger trains over the next two years in a deal worth nearly $60-million, state press said on Monday. China’s state-run Changchun Track Passenger Train Company will supply the double-decker trains as well as provide spare parts, tools and technical services.