THE Unita rebel movement in Angola has called for peace talks with the government next year, following a string of defeats in its south-eastern strongholds. In a statement published in Paris, Unita said peace has to go further than a simple end to hostilities. “Peace must come from a dialogue on the deep historical and […]

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi left his country for the first time in years for a private visit to South Africa on Wednesday. Tshisekedi, a long-time foe of the late Mobutu Sese Seko, and now of his successor Laurent Desire-Kabila, heads the Union for Democracy and Social Progress. He had repeatedly been […]

SOUTH African Airways announced on Tuesday that because of dramatic hikes in fuel costs, it is to increase domestic and regional airfares by an average of four percent from January 10. SAA’s vice president for corporate affairs Victor Nosi said the sharp worldwide increase in the cost of a barrel of crude oil from a […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Tuesday 1.00pm. SOUTH Africa crushed the demoralised West Indian team by nine wickets on the fourth day of the third Test on Tuesda,y to wrap up a series victory. Needing only 146 to win the first full series between the two sides, South Africa cruised home after a free-scoring opening stand […]

A 14-YEAR-OLD youth was on Wednesday sentenced in the Cape Town Regional Court to 15 years in jail, three of them suspended, for stabbing to death acclaimed sport and news photographer John Rubython during a burglary in April. The teenager, who is too young to be named, was in October found guilty of stabbing British-born […]

A PARACHUTIST remains in a critical condition at the Knysna Hospital after a freak accident at an airshow at Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape on Monday, SABC radio news reported on Tuesday. Paul Siebert hit the tailwing of the aircraft he was jumping from, and was knocked unconscious. His parachute opened with the impact, […]

UN chief Kofi Annan has asked the security council to raise the number of peacekeeping troops in troubled Sierra Leone to 10000 to make up for the departure of Nigerian soldiers. The UN force, Unamsil, has deployed 6000 troops in the country to enforce peace accords signed in July to bring an end to its […]

VOLUMES were thin on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Tuesday with many players absent for year-end holidays. The modest value traded, only R327-million, and the fall in the benchmark all share index were evidence of the thin trading conditions. Other major indices were also down, with the exception of the financial index and the gold […]

THE Department of Home Affairs said on Tuesday it is geared to issue hand-written birth, marriage and death certificates in the event of any computer failures linked to the change of year to 2000. In a statement in Pretoria, the department assured the public that its systems are Y2K compliant, saying there is no need […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 12.15pm INFORMATION technology firm Dimension Data Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday it will cut an original purchase price for the European networking operations of its rival, Comparex Holdings Ltd, to 250-million from 290-million Didata shares. “As a result of the due diligence exercise, Didata and Comparex have agreed to alter […]