TURKEYS’s national oil and gas comany has sealed an agreement with its Libyan counterpart to explore and drill oil in the North African country. Under the agreement, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) will work in two of the 12 fields which Tripoli opened for exploration in 1995. The Libyan parliament is expected to ratify the […]

THE three rebel factions fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will meet next week in an effort to resolve their differences, the leader of one of the groups said.

PHILIPE BERNES-LASSERRE, Lagos | Tuesday 3.15pm TROOPS poured into the oil-producing region of southern Nigeria on Monday in a military operation a senior official said is aimed at averting a “total breakdown of law and order”. Dozens of truckloads of heavily-armed soldiers drove into the Bayelsa State capital Yenagoa over the weekend and moved on […]

STEVEN MANN, Cape Town | Tuesday 3.45pm. THE Congress of South African Trade Union has declared war against HIV/Aids and called on the government to declare the epidemic a national emergency. “Government alone cannot win the war against HIV and Aids. Cosatu affiliates and members are in the front-line in the war against AIDS,” Cosatu’s […]

MICHAEL FINCH, Johannesburg | Tuesday 6.00pm. ENGLAND included three uncapped players in a squad of 12 named on Tuesday for the first Test against South Africa starting at the Wanderers on Thursday. Although coach Duncan Fletcher refused to elaborate on the squad, the selection of batsmen Michael Vaughan and Chris Adams, together with all-rounder Gavin […]

A RECORD 48 African nations have been accepted for the 2002 World Cup qualifying draw in Japan on December 7, the organisers said on Tuesday. Only Gabon, ranked 14 in Africa by world controlling body FIFA, and minnows Benin, Niger and Guinea Bissau are missing. The deadline for entries is November 30. Gabon played in […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Tuesday 12.15pm. ZIMBABWE’S foreign exchange market opened to a continued shortage of hard currency on Tuesday, with traders saying there was no sign of improved liquidity in the absence of huge inflows. ”The market is in a tight spot because the inflows are very limited while demand remains high,” said one […]

STANDARD Bank Investment Corporation (Stanbic) has questioned the shareholder support claimed by Nedcor in its hostile bid. It has told the Securities Regulation Panel that the support may not be as solid as Nedcor has led the market to believe. Nedcor said on Monday it has irrevocable commitments from shareholders holding 35% of Stanbic shares […]

FORMER Mpumalanga transport MEC Jackson Mthembu was ordered this week to refund the State for the Mercedes Benz he smashed while driving without a license during the run-up to the June 2 elections. Mthembu rolled the luxury car through two traffic signs and into a tree in Witbank in May while on ANC business in […]

ZIMBABWE will hold parliamentary elections around March next year, President Robert Mugabe has announced. He told a state banquet for visiting Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham on Saturday night that the elections will follow a review of the constitution currently under way. Mugabe said the National Constitutional Review Commission he appointed was due to present […]