THOUSANDS of Mauritians took to the streets to celebrate the landslide victory of the opposition alliance, which could result in a first non-Hindu prime minister for the Indian Ocean island. Electoral Commissioner Irsam Rahman said the alliance between the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) and the Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (MSM) had won 54 of the 62 […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday SASOL, the listed fuel, gas and chemicals producer, has concluded a R14bn deal with petroleum companies in Nigeria, barely days after completing a R163m project to install a pipeline gas distribution network in KwaZulu-Natal. In the Nigerian deal, the joint venture with Chevron Overseas Petroleum and the Nigerian National Petrol […]

DE BEERS, the world’s largest producer of diamonds, has completed its successful 305m Canadian dollar bid for the takeover of diamond producer Winspear Diamonds.The offer saw 96.2% of Winspear shareholders accept De Beers’ bid of C$5 per share. De Beers last month concluded the agreement for the acquisition of Winspear, which counts among its assets […]

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday reserved judgment in jailed clergyman Allan Boesak’s application for leave to appeal against a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling. Boesak was imprisoned for three years in May after being convicted on charges of fraud and theft. His lawyers argued at the Constitutional Court that the Appeal Court breached the Constitution […]

MINING group Anglo American has unveiled surging first-half profits, with its operating result up 71% to $1.6bn, and attributed the strong performance to buoyant commodity markets. The group, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, said pretax profit was also up more than 70% to $2.08bn. Sales rose 5.5% to $10.31bn. South African-listed […]

More than 100 dangerous awaiting-trial prisoners were erroneously released from Pollsmoor Prison in the Western Cape, the correctional services department confirmed.Murder, robbery, rape and arson suspects did not qualify for the government’s early release programme to bring down overcrowding in South Africa’s prisons. The government plans to release 11 000 awaiting-trial prisoners countrywide by Friday, […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and AFP, Johannesburg | Wednesday AS soaring petrol prices spark worldwide protests, the South African government is to establish a committee to find ways to control the price. While South African consumers and businesses have meekly accepted the hike, protesters blocked highways across Europe. Belgian Transport Minister Isabelle Durant announced that European Union […]

SUGAR production in Zimbabwe is expected to stay level this year at 580000 tonnes but may increase next season, despite political upheavals and farm seizures, the head of the Zimbabwe Cane Farmers Association said. Next season looked promising, with an expected harvest of between 580000 and 620000 tonnes, he said. – Reuters

IMPALA Platinum Holdings Ltd (Implats) Chief Executive Steve Kearney has stepped down owing to ill health. John Smithies, currently operations director, will take up the position of acting CEO for the time being, although he intends to retire at the beginning of next year. Implats said in a statement it would consider the appointment of […]

IRREGULAR rains in Niger are threatening nearly two million people with famine and thousands have been left homeless by flooding in some regions of the usually arid African country. Nearly 1.8 million people – over 10% of the population – have been at risk of famine since August due to either a lack or an […]