OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 9.55am GOVERNMENT and business leaders from throughout the Commonwealth are in Johannesburg on Tuesday for the start of the three-day Commonwealth Business Forum. Ten government leaders are due to attend. The forum, hosted by South African President Thabo Mbeki, comes ahead of a full Heads of Government summit in Durban […]

DRIVERS of commercial buses left thousands of Lagos workers and traders stranded on Monday when they went on strike to protest at what they call extortion and harassment by Nigerian transport officials. Representatives of the striking drivers said that their industrial action will continue until road transport officials stop harassing them under the guise of […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 1.05pm ALEXKOR, the embattled state diamond miner, has secured a R120-million loan that will allow further exploration work, a government official said on Monday. The loan agreement was sealed after a meeting on Friday between officials from Alexkor, the government, the diamond miner’s management contractor, Nabera Mining Ltd, and Nabera’s […]

ZIMBABWEAN strike bowler Heath Streak has again been ruled out of the squad to play South Africa in the second Test of the two match home-away series in Harare on Thursday. Streak has been suffering from a knee injury which again flared up after surgery. The 13-man Zimbabwean squad shows three changes to the one […]

UGANDA’S Minister of State for Regional Cooperation Amama Mbabazi on Sunday played down the repudiation of a ceasefire pact by one faction involved in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The head of the Ugandan-backed rebel Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), Jean-Pierre Bemba, on Saturday said the ceasefire in DRC is […]

FIVE people were killed and another 10 injured when their village was struck by lightning in a violent thunderstorm that lashed the northern Transkei on Sunday. Umtata police said two people were killed instantly and 10 injured in a homestead in the Elliottdale district, while another three people were struck by lightning at a nearby […]

MICHAEL FINCH, Kimberley | Monday 9.00am. THANKS to two whirlwind innings’ from Hansie Cronje and Nicky Boje, Free State finally got the better of the plucky North West side to win their Supersport Series match by four wickets in Potchefstroom on Sunday. Cronje scored 44 off 40 balls (5×4, 1×6) and Boje 76 off 67 […]

THE three African squads to compete at the world junior football championship in New Zealand from November 10-27 have been released by FIFA. The squads are: Burkina Faso Goalkeepers: Daouda Traore, Jean-Jacques Kabore. Defenders: Lamine Traore, Jose-Hermann Yameogo, Aboubacar Sanou, Soumaila Tassambedo, Charles Pafadnam, Siaka Sanou. Midfielders: Ibrahim Kabore, Issaka Ouedraogo, Ousseni Zongo, Gaston Rouamba. […]

Friday: At Newlands Stadium — Ajax Cape Town 2 (David Kannemeyer 17, Carlo Scott 37) Bush Bucks 0; At Investec Stadium — Wits University 2 (Alois Bunjira 22, 39) Manning Rangers 2 (Robbie Milne 19, Sipho Ndzuzo 25). Saturday: At Johannesburg Stadium — Kaizer Chiefs 4 (Siyabonga Nomvete 40, 88-pen, Thabo Mooki 81, Patrick Mbuthu […]

POLICE have arrested 90 members of the vigilante group People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) in the first six months of this year, Tshwete said in reply to another parliamentary question. This compares to the 57 detained in 1998. Only one Pagad member had been convicted this year, and just two last year.