FORMER Mpumalanga premier Mathews Phosa has withdrawn a R1-million civil defamation suit against his successor Ndaweni Mahlangu at the urging of senior African National Congress leaders. The two antagonists confirmed they buried the hatchet in a joint statement on Tuesday after a weekend meeting chaired by ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe. Phosa lodged the defamation […]

FARMERS in Mpumalanga are banding together to fight land claims as a collective following studies showing that more than 41% or 3,2-million hectares of the province’s commercial agricultural land is under claim. The initiative will see the creation of a defence fund, special legal teams and technical advisors to manage immediate legal responses to all […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Tuesday 4.30pm. ZIMBABWEAN voters have rejected a new constitution which critics said would strengthen President Robert Mugabe’s hold on power, official results showed on Tuesday. A total of 697754 people — 54.6% — voted against the constitution, while 578210 voted in favour, the election directorate announced. The result is seen as […]

PALLADIUM surged to an all-time high of $625 an ounce bid on Tuesday after reports that Russian platinum-group-metals export quotas will not be signed soon. Platinum jumped $15 to $525,00/$535,00 after news that Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted the head of state precious metals reserve Gokhran as saying the signing of the export quotas may […]

Mail_&_Guardian freelancer Charlene Smith, whose courageous account of being raped was published in the paper last year, is amongst 12 South African finalists for the CNN African Journalist of the Year Award announced on Sunday. CNN spokeswoman Monica Braganca said the finalists, from Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe were chosen from a […]

THE Bank of Uganda intervened in the money market on Tuesday to prevent the shilling from sliding further against major currencies. BOU spokesman Walugembe Musoke said that a further seven million dollars has been injected into the forex market, where the shilling has continued to lose ground against other currencies, in an effort to hold […]

NAMIBIAN President Sam Nujoma arrived in Angola on Monday for talks with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos expected to focus on the worsening security situation along their countries’ borders. Nujoma arrived at Luanda’s airport late on Monday morning and immediately drove to the presidential palace for a meeting with dos Santos. Nujoma is expected to […]

THE University of Port Elizabeth has elected Independent Electoral Commission chairwoman Dr Brigalia Bam as its new Chancellor. She will be inaugurated as the university’s fifth chancellor in April. Bam plans to use her tenure at UPE to transform tertiary education. She holds qualifications in teaching, social work, communication and management. She has been awarded […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 3.00pm CONSUMER prices rose by more than expected in January, prompting a small sell-off in the government bond market and weakness in the rand. The consumer price index rose by 2,6% year-on-year in the first month of 2000, from 2,2% in December, against a consensus forecast for a 2,3% climb, […]

TWO women have lodged complaints of sexual harassment against one of Parliament’s senior managers. Frene Ginwala, the Speaker of Parliament, said on Tuesday that the women had been assured that they would be protected, and the case was under investigation. Media reports that several women had been abused by the manager, but were afraid to […]