THE Angolan government abandoned the 1994 peace accord on Tuesday and said it would use its military might to seize land held by Unita rebels. Faustino Muteka, minister for territorial administration, told parliament that an official declaration ending the validity of the 1994 Lusaka agreement would be issued before the end of February. The army […]

PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela on Tuesday cancelled his scheduled trip to Germany in response to unrest in the wake of the the assassination of United Democratic Movement leader Sifiso Nkabinde in KwaZulu-Natal on the weekend. Mandela was due to arrive in Baden-Baden in Germany on Thursday.

FRENCH oil company Total has taken control of Forzando coal mine in South Africa by purchasing shares in the mine from South Africa’s Anglovaal Minerals (Avmin), Total announced on Tuesday. Total previously had a 50% stake in Forzando. The mine has been operational since 1996, last year producing some 1,1-million tons of coal. Output is […]

SCOTLAND captain Bryan Redpath has warned his team’s Five Nations rivals to expect a much improved performance from the Scots this season. Redpath, who joined Wales captain Rob Howley, England’s Lawrence Dallaglio, France’s Raphael Ibanez and Ireland’s Paddy Johns for a sponsorship launch in London on Monday, spelled out to each of them what they […]

COMOROS interim President Tadjidine Ben Said Massonde has postponed the election for the successor to Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim who died last November. Tadjidine said on Wednesday: “My interim period was to last for three months and enable the organisation of the presidential vote,” he said. “But … it is impossible to organise elections in which […]

THE Western Gauteng Services Council seized all the ambulances from the West Rand town of Krugersdorp on Monday, because it has allegedly failed to respond to emergency calls. The ambulances are owned by the province, but operated by agents, in this case the Krugersdorp municipality. Dr Philip van Rensburg, director of Gauteng’s emergency services, said […]

TREVOR Phillips, former chief executive Officer of the Professional Soccer League (PSL), launched a company on Tuesday that will be one of the first African-based sports management groups to apply for Fifa accreditation. “The company will focus on providing the soccer industry with a two-pronged service — player management and sports marketing,” Phillips said. “While […]

CASUALTY figures in the Sierra Leonean capital rose dramatically on Wednesday as mortar fire was heard on the western edge of the Freetown peninsula. This comes a day after the Nigerian-led intervention force warned it would launch an offensive against the rebels. In the first official death toll since fighting broke out in Freetown on […]

DISSIDENTS of Angola’s Unita movement, who last year disavowed rebel chief Jonas Savimbi, on Tuesday elected the leaders of the group they have named the Unita Renewal Committee. The dissidents, including ex-aides to Savimbi who formed a splinter group as Angola plunged back into civil war last year, elected Silvestre Gabriel Samy the secretary-general of […]

President Nelson Mandela left Pretoria late on Wednesday for a brief visit to Germany and Switzerland.