FRANCE said on Thursday it expects Libyan leaders to uphold the life sentences handed down here against six Libyan agents for the 1989 mid-air bombing of a French UTA airliner that killed 170 people. “Libya has to uphold the verdict in line with pledges it made, notably in a letter by Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi […]

BRITAIN on Thursday denied that five of its officials who were told to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo are spies. London said the men had been working on contingency planning for a possible evacuation of its embassy in the capital, Kinshasa. “These people were not spies. Their purpose was wholly innocent and we […]

SUNSAT, South Africa and Africa’s first locally produced and manufactured satellite — built at Stellenbosch University’s faculty of engineering — is in a stable condition of power, temperature and altitude after 15 days in space. Sunsat project leader Prof Garth Milne on Thursday said the satellite’s movement has been stabilised since it separated from the […]

Andrew Muchineripi Soccer It is unfortunate that at a time when South African soccer should be presenting a united front to the world, cracks are appearing in relations between the national association and its professional wing. Premier Soccer League (PSL) chief executive Joe Ndhlela last week requested that referee Petros Mathabela be barred after the […]

Loose cannon Robert Kirby I have heard that during his heyday PW Botha was something of an enema freak. Before stressful occasions like making important speeches, blustering his way through Broederbond meetings, helicopter big-game shooting expeditions and so on, the Great Crocodile used to enjoy having a bucket of warm soapy water pumped up his […]

The introduction of six bull elephants seems to have sorted out the `aberrant behaviour’ of the young males in Pilanesberg, writes Barbara Ludman It was the sort of scene certain to delight visitors lucky enough to come upon it: a young bull elephant and two much younger males browsing peacefully together in the sparse bushveld, […]

SPARKED by crop damage fears, white maize futures reversed their upward sprint on Wednesday and turned back from the R1000-a-ton mark. A dealer said white maize futures reversed between R10 and R16 on five of the six contracts because of failed export orders for the staple grain. Traders are revising their estimates for the total […]

Howard Barrell The African National Congress is pulling out all the stops to seize control of the government of the Western Cape from the New National Party in the election on June 2 – and it believes it has a good chance of succeeding. The ANC’s strategy depends on persuading upwards of six leading coloured […]

THE South African relief mission to flooded areas of Mozambique is proceeding, with two Oryx helicopters flying emergency supplies to Maimelane and Inhassorro. Assistance from a Japanese aid organisation was anticipated from Thursday night while the Red Cross and other organisations are already on the scene. They are working to pre-empt famine after the destruction […]

Ian Clayton Cash-strapped NGOs should not expect much assistance with their funding from the latest Katz commission report. The commission’s proposals on donations to and possible tax deductions from NGOs are to be printed soon – but they are unlikely to result in any major changes. Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel told Parliament this week […]