A DNA-based paternity test has proved that presidential spokesman Parks Mankahlana is the father of a nine-year-old Mpumalanga boy, the child’s attorney Vusi Ngobe said. Mankahlana previously publicly denied fathering the boy with Thalitha Mthethwa during a hearing at the KaBokweni Maintenance Court near White River in July, and refused to pay child support unless […]

POLICE have arrested six people in southern Tanzania on suspicion of cannibalism after they reportedly dug up the body of a child buried last week, a newspaper and radio have reported. The suspects were found with large chunks of human flesh, two pairs of shoes made of human skin, four sets of human skins and […]

DEVASTATING fires have claimed the lives of seven people and caused damage estimated at hundreds of thousands of rand in the eastern Free State and Johannesburg. Another fire which started in the southern Free State and spread to the northern areas of the Eastern Cape was brought under control without any reported injuries or fatalities. […]

STONE-THROWING crowds have demanded that police surrender to them a white farmer accused of dragging a black man to death behind his truck. Farmer Pieter Odendaal, 44, appeared briefly in a Sasolburg court on a charge of murder in connection with the killing of Mosoko Rampuru, 37, who was found dead on his farm late […]

LIBYA has invited international oil companies to take part in joint ventures to upgrade and expand its refining and petrochemical industries, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported. The authoritative industry newsletter said Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) is seeking bidding from a selected number of companies on joint ventures to build a new refinery […]

AN ExxonMobil unit has confirmed reserves of at least 600 million barrels of crude in its Nigerian OPL 209 deepwater block. A company official said Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd completed exploratory drilling in the block, off southeastern Nigeria, at the end of last year. ”We drilled two wells, Era 1 and Era 2. […]

SWAZILAND’S traditional Prime Minister Dibanisa Mavuso has been fired by King Mswati for violating his duties, including poaching in a royal game park, a brother of the king said. The traditional prime minister is the main advisor to the Queen Mother, who co-rules Swaziland with her son Mswati. Mavuso frequently had the police bring cabinet […]

REUTERS, London | Monday MINING giant Anglo American Plc is expected to report a 62% leap in half-year profit, driven by soaring platinum and diamond earnings with the good times forecast to roll on, for now. Mining analysts have forecast Anglo’s headline profit (net profit before exceptionals and goodwill amortisation) to leap to around US$87m […]

SWAZILAND has agreed to open its prisons for convicts in Rwanda, easing pressure on the United Nations to find suitable prisons for them. Jails in Rwanda have been crammed with awaiting-trial prisoners since the 1994 genocide and thousands of suspects are expected to be tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. UN assistant secretary […]

THE community of Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga is counting the hours before the 2004 host of the World Gold Panning Championships is announced in Poland. If South Africa is announced as bid winner, the town will erupt into a street party, says executive member of the South African Gold Panning Association, Cheryl van Dyk. “Gold […]