THE national lottery, which kicks off in the first week of next month, will deliver an estimated R24-billion in prizes over the seven-year period of the initial contract, the Business Day reports. Lotteries board chairman Joe Foster told Parliament on Wednesday that the lottery will potentially have a R50-billion turnover in the first seven years. […]

SOME 20 United States business leaders are to arrive in South Africa at the weekend on a trade and investment mission, the US Embassy said in Pretoria on Thursday. It said the visit will form part of a tour of three African countries by the delegation, headed by US civic leader Jesse Jackson. The mission […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 5.25pm. LANCE Klusener, South Africa’s star all-rounder, has been handed a four match ban, suspended for three months, after he was involved in verbal confrontation with Zimbabwean Guy Whittall. Klusener and Whittall had words after the latter’s dismissal in a triangular series match at St George’s Park on Sunday. International […]

UNEMPLOYED miners armed with knives and spears on Wednesday attacked a group of miners going to work near Johannesburg, injuring 21 of them, police said. The attack took place at the East Rand Propriety Mine (ERPM) east of Johannesburg. “There were 200 or 300 miners who we believe used to work at the mine and […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 6.30pm. TORRENTIAL rains continued unabated in the northern areas of South Africa for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, leaving at least 38 people dead and thousands homeless. Northern Province formally applied for disaster status on Thursday following confirmation it will not be able to fund repairs. Damage to government […]

NIGERIA’S government has raised new conditions for releasing funds needed to restart the troubled Alscon aluminium smelter, company officials said on Thursday. Alscon officials said the government has tied the release of $150 million for running the plant to an assurance from foreign minority shareholders that they will complete the 193000 ton per year project […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 11.40am. THE government will take what steps it can to improve the domestic economy, including facilitating lower interest rates, cutting taxes and improving savings, Trade Minister Alec Erwin said on Wednesday. ”We will continue the complex process of managing the interest rate down so as to increase investment, particularly […]

NORWEGIAN Prime Minister Kjell Mange Bondevik is due in South Africa on Thursday on the second leg of a three-nation tour of Africa. The prime minister, on his first official visit to South Africa, is scheduled to meet President Thabo Mbeki for bilateral talks on Friday, embassy and government officials said. Bondevik, accompanied by a […]

THE Confederation of African Football has halved the $10000 fine imposed on African Nations Cup co-hosts Nigeria on Tuesday after unruly behaviour by their fans in Lagos, a senior official said on Wednesday. No reasons were given for the reduction announced by CAF in Lagos following a second incident at the national stadium, which witnessed […]

SWEDISH bus and truck manufacturer AB Volvo said on Tuesday it will step up its investment in southern African by acquiring its regional distributor, liquidated last month, for $10-million. Executive vice-president Lennart Jeansson said that Volvo has reached an agreement with the liquidators to acquire the assets of Volvo Trucks, one of the companies owned […]