A LAWSUIT by former employees of Thor Chemicals in Cato Ridge near Durban will go ahead in England, the British Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday. The British-based multinational appealed on Wednesday against a lower court ruling in July 1998 that the group of workers, who claim they suffered mercury poisoning at Thor’s Cato Ridge […]

COMMERCIALISATION of the Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) will not attract enough capital to rationalise operations, Zambia National Farmers Union’s president Ajay Vashee said on Tuesday. Vashee said commercialisation of Zamtel will not attract enough capital to extend its network to all farmers. “Similarly the contribution of $210-million to Zambia Electricity Supply Company should mean more […]

THE United States will trigger Moslem wrath and pay a “heavy price” if the ailing spiritual guide of Egypt’s main armed Moslem fundamentalist group dies in his US prison cell, according to his American lawyer Ramsey Clark. Clark, a former US attorney general, was referring to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman (61), blind spiritual guide to […]

THE controversial appointment of disgraced attorney Ramesh Vassen as consul general to India will continue as planned, Foreign Affairs Minister Alfred Nzo said on Tuesday. At a media conference in Pretoria, Nzo called objections to the appointment “political opportunism”, saying Vassen deserves a second chance. He was struck off the attorneys’ roll in 1996 for […]

DEADLOCK between the Justice Department and prosecutors seems likely after unions submitted a demand for a 25% salary increase. Justice Minister Dullah Omar, who has committed himself to professional-level salaries for prosecutors, said on SABC radio news on Tuesday that he cannot see how such a demand can be met, but will discuss the matter […]

THE Egyptian people “will never forgive me” if I visit Israel while hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the government, President Hosni Mubarak said in on Tuesday. Mubarak made the remark at a meeting of Jewish community leaders in Paris in reply to a question on why he had not visited Israel, the Egyptian government […]

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has set up a special court to arbitrate disputes related to economic development and market integration. Comesa secretariat member Onyango Matata said the Comesa Court of Justice, launched in September last year, the Lusaka-based court will be empowered to place sanctions on countries reneging on agreement […]

MOZAMBIQUE’S ailing light aircraft charter service, TTA, threatened to return the company to the state on Tuesday unless it was granted domestic passenger routes. TTA was initially promised a share of domestic passenger routes when it was privatised in August 1997 but has been unable to pry licences for flights out of the national airline, […]

FOREIGN military experts are serving in Ethiopia and presumably also in Eritrea as the two countries confront each other over their disputed border, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told said on Tuesday. “I assume the Eritreans have foreign technicians,” the prime minister said in an interview. “We have foreign technicians to train our pilots.”In January, […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Wednesday 9.30pm. MAMELODI Sundowns improved their Castle Premier League chances when they wiped out Vaal Professionals 7-1 at the Odi stadium on Wednesday evening. Four of the goals were scored off the boot of Sundowns captain Daniel Mudau, in the 20th, 24th, 27th and 33rd minutes. Downs’ other goals came from […]