ONGERI JOHN, Dar Es Salaam | Tuesday 11.15am. THE Word Bank has blamed low levels of direct foreign investment in Africa on the constant negative reporting by Western media that portrays the continent as a “centre of misery and conflict”. World Bank African chief economist Alan Gelb said that the region’s growing economic reconstruction and […]

ROSALIND RUSSELL, Asmara | Tuesday 11.30am. ERITREA claims it has recaptured its western town of Tesseney from Ethiopian forces after a day-long battle which sent hundreds of refugees scurrying across the Sudanese border. The Foreign Ministry said one Ethiopian division and two brigades had been ”totally routed” in Monday’s fighting, which continued well past nightfall. […]

MARIAM ISA, Johannesburg | Tuesday 12.00pm. LIFE assurer Liberty Group says it will not be able to dip into its R3,5-billion cashpile until the outcome of a hostile bid for its controlling shareholder is clear. ”The so-called war chest is now R3,5-billion,” Liberty Chief Executive Roy Andersen said. He was speaking after the company announced […]

THREE men have been convicted by the Port Elizabeth High Court for raping two Belgian tourists in April this year. John Tee, 35, Benjamin Dirk, 29, and Donovan van Rooyen, 32, will be sentenced on Wednesday. Judge Frank Schoon said although only Tee had committed the rapes, Van Rooyen and Dirk were found guilty of […]

THE most senior correctional services official in the Western Cape has threatened to stop accepting new inmates from the end of June, saying the province’s prisons are already packed to capacity and nothing is being done to alleviate the situation. Stephen Korabie, the Western Cape provincial commissioner, says the problem is largely due to a […]

LUCIA MUTIKANI, Johannesburg | Tuesday 12.00pm. NEW vehicle sales accelerated nearly 19% in May as fixed investment levels improved, but manufacturers warn that an ailing rand and political turmoil in Zimbabwe could erode confidence. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said in a statement on Monday that vehicle sales rose to 29292 […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Nottingham | Monday 12.45pm. ZIMBABWE made a stunning declaration on the fifth and final day of the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Monday, closing their first innings 89 runs behind the home-side to force a result. Following the loss of more than 137 overs in the first four days the […]

WILLIAM Gare, South Africa’s current national junior middleweight champion, lost his WBC International title on Saturday night in Italy while challenging for the WBU middleweight world title. Although he dropped Antonio Perugino in the second round, he was unable to capitalise on the kncockdown and lost on points. “Perugino is a very good boxer,” said […]

ZAMBIAN President Frederick Chiluba flew to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday for talks with President Laurent Kabila focusing on the deployment of UN peacekeepers there. Government sources said the talks in Lubumbashi, would review a fragile ceasefire that officials say has largely held since April, when countries sucked into the war agreed a […]

MOZAMBIQUE says it can achieve 6% to 8% growth this year, despite the recent floods in the country. Former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel said in Johanesburg on Monday the economy has shown surprising resilience to the floods which wiped out large tracts of infrastructure in Mozambique. Speaking at the Mozambique Construction Forum she said […]