A HIGH-ranking Bank of Athens official and two other people were arrested in Johannesburg on Wednesday for allegedly defrauding South African banks of millions of rands — and possibly billions — SABC television news reported. The arrests come after more than two years of intensive investigations into white collar crime by a special team of […]

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki has announced the appointment of three new senior management appointments in the Public Service sector. In a statement on Saturday, Mbeki said Hilton Dennis (41) has been appointed as director-general of the South African Secret Service (SASS), replacing Billy Masetlha (45) who had been redeployed as director-general of the Home Affairs Department. […]

GOVERNMENT troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo recaptured the strategic rebel-controlled town of Bokungu in the northwest of the country, a rebel spokesman said on Friday. It is the first time rebels in the DRC conceded losing one of their positions to Kinshasa’s forces since their war to oust President Laurent-Desire Kabila began in […]

MOROCCAN international striker Ahmad Bahja has been transferred from the Emirati side Al Wasl to Saudi club Al Nassr for $900000 in time for January’s World Club Championship. Bahja, 29, joined Al Wasl in May from another Saudi club, Al Ittihad, for $1_,05 million but he hardly played because of a five-game suspension after a […]

ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Johannesburg | Monday 12.00pm. BAFANA Bafana will launch their campaign for a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup against Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Sudan or Swaziland in the middle of next year. Provisional dates for the home-and-away first-round matches are the weekends of June 2, 3, 4 and June 16, 17, 18, which […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Monday 4.45pm. THE Zimbabwean fight-back against Sri Lanka has been cut short as bad light forced the players to leave the field on the third day of the final Test in Harare. Zimbabwe were 48-2 in their second innings when the umpires called off play as dark clouds swept across the […]

FORMER West Indies test fast bowler Sylvester Clarke collapsed and died at his home in Barbados at the weekend. Clarke, who would have celebrated his 45th birthday later this month, was the third former West Indian Test player to die in the past month. Fellow fast bowler Malcolm Marshall died of cancer last month at […]

FIVE female teachers were dismissed on Thursday for forcing 16 pupils to simulate sex in front of a class three years ago, a government official said. The five, from a primary school in the village of Waterval in eastern Mpumalanga, in 1996 forced boys and girls aged between eight and 12 to perform sexual acts […]

PULP and paper firm Sappi said on Thursday it expected a significant improvement in earnings in 2000 as pulp prices rise and demand for paper increases. The company also said it has no intention of moving its primary market listing to New York from Johannesburg. Speculation has increased that it will seek such a move […]

THE fixtures for the South African Sevens Championship to be played at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on the weekend have been announced. Friday: 2pm: Fiji v Japan 2.20: Canada v Namibia 2.40: Argentina v Georgia 3pm: New Zealand v Zimbabwe 3.20: France v Tonga 3.40: Australia v Morocco 4pm: Samoa v Uruguay 4.20: […]