MICRO-lending concern Theta’s buy-out of the African Bank has been finalised after the finance ministry and Reserve Bank approved the deal. Theta said 95% of African Bank shareholders have accepted its offer, with only 5% of minority shareholders yet to confirm acceptance. Once the offer period has expired, Theta said it will exercise its rights […]

THE biannual Meridian Cup, an under-17 soccer tournament involving four teams from Africa against four teams from Europe, kicks off in Cape Town on January 28 when South Africa play Ireland and defending champions Nigeria play Italy. Spain, Portugal, Ghana and Egypt are the other four countries involved, the organisers said. “This is one of […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 9.00pm. Ernie Els’s victory in the Alfred Dunhill SA PGA on Sunday has moved him back up to fourth place in the latest world rankings issued on Monday. Els, newly-wed and refreshed after an injury-plagued 1998, is looking forward to 1999 and is aiming to get back on top of […]

AN arbitration hearing aimed at solving the dispute between the SA Broadcasting Corporation and its fired deputy group CEO Govan Reddy began on Monday under the auspices of the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa. The proceedings, expected to last about a week, follow the termination of Reddy’s contract after he accused the corporation of […]

THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange said on Monday foreigners were net buyers of nearly R1,2-billion rands’ worth of equities last week after buying only R86,7-million worth the previous week. MAJOR MANGO PULPING A MAJOR United Arab Emirates fruit processing company, Moh’d Al Oman, has begun construction a mango pulping plant in Mozambique’s central province of Sofala. […]

MORTAR fire was heard Tuesday morning in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, as intervention troops continued an offensive against rebels who stormed the city two weeks ago. The offensive by the Nigerian-led Ecomog force began Monday, southeast of Freetown, along the main road linking the peninsula to the interior. Ecomog intends to prevent the rebels escaping […]

SOUTH African, world ninth-seed squash player Natalie Grainger made it through to the final on Tuesday of the Arader and O’Rourke Greenwich Open in the United States, beating seventh-seeded Australian Kim Keevil 9-4, 9-7, 9-2 in the semifinal. In the quarterfinals Grainger defeated sixth-seeded American Latasha Khan 9-4, 9-2, 9-0. Grainger will face second-seed Rebecca […]

TRACTOR sales fell 47% in in December compared to the same month in l997, with only 165 units sold, the South African Agricultural Machinery Association announced on Monday. Tractor sales for the year were down 30% on the previous year, at 4015 units. Combine harvester and baler sales for 1998 were also 30% down on […]

BOXING trainer Elias Tshabalala believes that the spirit of his late brother Ginger will bolster the performance of his charge Mweli Msomi who meets Soon Botes for the vacant national light heavyweight crown on Sunday. The title was last held by Ginger Tshabalala who was killed in Johannesburg in 1995. “It’s my brother’s title,” said […]

Nigeria has named a provisional 29-man squad dominated by its foreign-based professional players for Saturday’s African Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi. Naming the team on Monday in the southwestern city of Abeokuta, venue of the match, Dutch coach Thijs Libregts expressed the hope that with dedication and commitment, the players would overrun Burundi and […]