JACOB ZUMA

South Africa is about to join the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) grouping and will attend the first summit of the leading emerging economies in April this year, but doubts remain over the suitability of the African nation to be in the exclusive club of the fast-growing economies.

South Korea, among other countries, would be a better candidate than South Africa to join the BRIC group of prominent emerging market nations, said Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and the man who first coined the “BRIC” term.

Despite mounting international pressure, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe would run in the country’s polls likely to be scheduled for June next year. Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) unanimously endorsed him as a candidate for the elections on Saturday. The party cadres, along with their leader, also pledged for a ‘harmonious’ ballot in 2011.

South African president Jacob Zuma set off to Harare on Friday expecting to even out the disputes of Zimbabwe's power-sharing government which is almost on the verge of collapse. The Zimbabwe standoff worsened as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai filed a lawsuit against ruling president Robert Mugabe accusing him of violating the global political agreement (GPA) signed between them.

A powerful South African labour leader threatened on Sunday to withdraw support for President Jacob Zuma's African National Congress, ending a long- standing alliance strained by a nearly three-week-old strike.

South African President Jacob Zuma on Saturday accused striking state workers of abandoning the sick at hospitals and said he expected a deal to be reached soon to end the labour action by about 1.3 million.

Copper and other base metal prices rose up to 5 per kg in the non-ferrous metal market on Thursday on continued buying by stockists on industrial demand amid firming trend at the London Metal Exchange.

In an obvious hint to the imminent platinum and palladium supply woes, the JPMorgan Chase said that the metals will witness a huge rise in prices due to the concerns over implementing changes to mining rules in South Africa, which is the largest producer of the metals. Concern about rule changes intensified in recent weeks as Kumba Iron Ore and Lonmin said the government had deprived them of mining rights. The ANC is preparing to discuss mine nationalisation at a congress next month.

Yet another problem hit the gold mining business in South Africa with four illegal miners were killed in a shooting at an abandoned gold mine owned by relatives of former president Nelson Mandela and President Jacob Zuma. Mining industry in South Africa has been reeling under safety problems for the past several months and this latest deaths are bound to create hurdles in the mining sector in South Africa.

Will South Africa increase its stake in platinum group metals (PGM) industry following a green signal from an advisory body? A totally black-owned company KIO Advisory Services recently said that the country should raise its involvement in the PGM industry in order to achieve transformation. And, if that happens, there is a chance of big changes in South Africa's mining sector. Even gold, and platinum and other precious metals' prices may also see some changes following this.

South Africa's department of mineral resources has completed an audit of the state's mining assets, and is preparing a proposition to cabinet to consolidate the assets under one company, the presidency said on Tuesday.

South African President Jacob Zuma apologized on Saturday for fathering an illegitimate child, in the face of national outcry.

U.S. President Barack Obama reached agreement with major developing powers on a climate deal on Friday, a U.S. official said, but he said the accord was only a first step and was insufficient to fight climate change.

South Africa, with the world's highest HIV caseload, will roll out life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs to significantly more people infected with the virus from next year, President Jacob Zuma said on

South African police do not have a license to shoot to kill, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday, but vowed the government would press on with a tough crackdown on rampant crime ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday urged police officials from across the country to crack down harder on one of the world's highest rates of violent crime, and shoot to kill if needed.

South Africa's Treasury and banking officials are to meet government officials in India to discuss foreign exchange control implications of the planned tie-up between MTN and India's Bharti Airtel.

African leaders will step up calls on Monday for an end to Western sanctions against Zimbabwe and urge South Africa to plead Harare's cause within the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, officials said.

South Africa declared support for a proposed tie-up between domestic telecoms operator MTN and India's Bharti Airtel on Tuesday, making the complex cash-and-shares deal more likely to succeed.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encouraged South Africa Friday to press for reform in Zimbabwe and said Washington would build closer ties with Pretoria after strains under the Bush administration.