OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Thursday ZIMBABWE’S opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has threatened to “take to the streets” to force President Robert Mugabe to halt his country’s involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – which the government has admitted has cost it US$200m. The admissions, by Finance Minister Simba […]

A CLOTHING store manager and a staff member have appeared in a Northern Province court for allegedly painting a 14-year-old girl white after accusing her of shoplifting. Thelma Strydom, who manages Pep Stores in Louis Trichardt, and employee Julia Munyai were not asked to plead on charges of assault, theft and crimen injuria. A male […]

OWN CORRESPONDENTS, Cape Town | Thursday THE gathering of intelligence is to be stepped up significantly as national and provincial government deploys massive resources to combat the wave of bomb attacks on the Cape Peninsula, says provincial community safety minister Hennie Bester. Bester told a news conference that traffic police would also have to be […]

ABOUT three-quarters of South Africans are positive the future would be happy for all citizens – but decreasing numbers of minority groups say they are “confident or positive” in a national poll conducted by market researchers Markinor. In its biannual survey, which coincides with the South African Human Rights Commission’s four-day conference on racism in […]

BRENDAN BOYLE, Johannesburg | Thursday FORMER South African President FW de Klerk has broken a long silence to warn that the racial harmony that marked the transition from apartheid to democracy is starting to crumble. De Klerk, the white Afrikaner who handed power to Nelson Mandela in 1994, said in a statement that whites, mixed-race […]

ZELDA Ingrid Williams, the sister of convicted thief and former cabinet minister Abe Williams, has appeared briefly in the Paarl Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges involving R56 740. Williams, 35, was not asked to plead. With her in the dock was Theuns Blom, 30, who faces similar charges. Both face 25 counts of fraud. The […]

SOUTH African couple Callie and Monique Strydom, held captive for four months by Moslem rebels in the Philippines, have arrived home to an emotional welcome. The Strydoms landed at the Waterkloof airbase outside Pretoria after a 14-hour flight aboard a chartered SA Airways jet with a high-level South African government delegation led by Foreign Affairs […]

Bandits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have freed 25 Zambian villagers they seized last weekend, but the fate of one is still unknown. Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa said the 25 were freed and handed over to Zambian authorities on Tuesday night. ”They all appear to be in good health and are back […]

HEALTH and fitness group Leisurenet Ltd is considering an offshore listing and has made some management shifts in anticipation of the move. Peter Gardener and Rod Mitchell, the founders of its Health and Racquet operations, will step down as joint chief executive officers of the group and will take direct charge of its Heartland subsidiaries […]