NEGOTIATIONS are under way to secure the release of a British oil worker kidnapped on Thursday in the troubled Niger Delta region, a British embassy spokesperson said on Friday.The oil man was seized on Thursday by youths demanding money. His identity, and that of the company he works for, are being withheld at the request […]

LAGOS police have arrested 13 people and banned northern cattle herders from using a 50-year-old market after a clash with oil tanker drivers this week left several people dead. The ban came after oil tanker drivers threatened strike action. The drivers regularly hold Lagos to ransom by strikes, using the chronic fuel shortage — in […]

Sechaba ka’Nkosi Meet the Federal Alliance’s newest recruit and probably Louis Luyt’s most sensational catch. She is streetwise Elizabeth Rapuleng (50) of Zondi, Soweto. Rapuleng dumped the ailing New National Party only three days after party stalwarts such as Sheila Camerer organised a big bash to celebrate her birthday. Rapuleng joined the alliance last week […]

Emeka Nwandiko Bathed in fluorescent light, Lisa Bornman points a 9mm Taurus pistol at a red bull’s- eye and fires. Despite the debate raging in the country whether handguns should be banned, Bornman takes weapons training to protect herself. She is part of a growing legion of women who believe a gun is the means […]

Ted Leggett When the Prevention of Organised Crime Act went into full effect at the end of last month, South Africa quietly entered into a whole new era in law enforcement, for better or worse. The Act gives criminal justice officials some very powerful weapons with which to wage their war on crime, but like […]

Kevin Mitchell Boxing In the movies, the fighters only bleed pretty. Slap in front of the camera means mascara, not knuckle. But not all boxers are squash-nosed pugs and, this Sunday, there are three at work on either side of the Atlantic who manage the rare feet of making both their opponents and young women […]

THE United States has agreed to delegate one of its most senior law enforcers, US attorney general Janet Reno, to head a new binational crime committee with South Africa. The new subcommittee on crime and justice will be launched by US vice-president Al Gore at the seventh meeting of the US-SA Binational Commission in Cape […]

David Shapshak Millions of South Africans could find themselves without electricity when the millennium rolls over as many local authorities are not ready for the year 2000 (Y2K) phenomenon. These power failures and blackouts – and the failure of other essential services such as water supply – could have “devastating” impacts, according to a confidential […]

David Shapshak South African scientists have developed a low-cost, environmentally friendly water- stabilisation system which could revolutionise the way water is treated. The system’s benefits are untold in a country were water is scarce:providing safer drinking water, especially for rural areas, and potentially saving the country a fortune in maintaining the underground water pipes in […]