CHINESE Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan held talks with Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Friday on the third leg of a tour to consolidate relations with African countries. Tang said after the one-hour meeting that he and Mugabe had discussed “many international issues”, including the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zimbabwe has some 11000 […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 5.00pm. GOLD mining tycoon Brett Kebble, kingpin of the powerful JCI group, has been ousted after being implicated in a multi-million rand share dealing scandal, it was reported on Sunday. Kebble admitted using company funds without permission from fellow directors to fight off a hostile bid that threatened his R7-billion […]

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Zuma and Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi will pay a two-day visit to Mozambique this weekend, the president’s office said. They will attend the inauguration of Mozambican President Joachim Chissano in Maputo on Saturday. Mbeki also plans to attend Sunday’s meeting of Southern African Development Community heads […]

DEON POTGIETER, Johannesburg | Friday 5.00pm. THE first super-fight of the new century will take place in South Africa on February 19 at Carnival City in Brakpan. “Baby” Jake Matlala and the powerhouse puncher Hawk Makepula will meet in one of the most eagerly awaited contests in South African boxing history. They will contest the […]

KENYAN riot police used tear gas in central Nairobi on Friday against about 100 protesting students who threw stones at the police and at passing motorists, blocking the city’s main highway. The clashes followed similar unrest on Thursday, which broke out between supporters of rival political groups with opposing views on who should draw up […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Windhoek | Saturday 5.30pm. FIVE people were killed late on Friday in a gun attack on a vehicle travelling along Namibia’s border with Angola, near where three French children were killed on January 3, Namibian police said on Saturday. The five dead are believed to have been Namibians working for the Ministry of […]

REBELS massacred 40 civilians in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo on December 31, Zimbabwe’s army said in a statement on Friday. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the report, which said the slaughter occurred at Kataki village west of Manono in Shaba province. “On the night of December 31 the rebels […]

FIRE fighters battled for several hours to extinguish a blaze on Cape Town’s Signal Hill on Friday afternoon, which had city residents choking on the thick smoke. The fire was fanned by strong winds, and a helicopter trailing buckets of sea water scooped from the ocean were used to bomb the flames, which were eventually […]

ALISTER BULL, Johannesburg | Friday 2.00pm. THE country’s four major banks, Nedcor, First National Bank, ABSA Bank and Stanbic said on Friday they would cut prime lending rates by one percentage point to 14,5%, with effect from January 19. The cuts were in swift answer to calls from the Reserve Bank on Thursday for lower […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 11.00am. IN yet another twist to the Benni McCarthy saga, the striker has been included by coach Trott Moloto in the African Nations Cup squad. McCarthy, who plays for Celta Viga in the Spanish league, was included — along with Ajax Amsterdam’s Aaron Mokoena — as ”standy players”. This face-saving […]