DAVID LE PAGE, Johannesburg | Wednesday 11.30pm. THE day for which South African rugby fans have long waited — when popular Western Province captain Bobby Skinstad dons the Springbok green and gold — comes at last on Saturday when the South African team faces Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. Though Skinstad (22) has played seven […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Wednesday 11.00am. ZIMBABWE was hit hard on Wednesday by a second anti-government national strike as trade unionists pressed their demands for pay rises, price cuts and an end to corruption. Factories and building sites fell silent across the country, with most shops and banks also closed, as trade unionists proved for […]

SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Wednesday 3.30pm. THE real value of building plans fell by 10,3% during the first nine months of the year, representing a loss of R1,27-billion to the economy, according to the latest building statistics released by Statistics South Africa on Wednesday. This continues a falling trend since the second half of 1996. […]

SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Monday 5.00pm. LOCAL markets had a fairly flat day on Monday with almost no movement in the key indices, with the exception of the all gold index which ended significantly lower on profit taking. Dealers said the day was vacuous, with the market just holding its ground after last week’s heavy […]

ROB DAVIES, Johannesburg | Tuesday 10.15am. WHEN the South African mid-week rugby team take on Edinburgh Reivers at Eastern Road on Tuesday evening Springbok coach Nick Mallett will have his selection spectacles focused on more than one Test hopeful. We all know that Mallett prefers not to change a winning combination, but after Saturday’s near-catastrophe […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Tuesday 3.30pm. THE International Monetary Fund’s executive board confirmed this week it is due to meet early next month in Washington to consider releasing an emergency $53-million balance of payments support for Zimbabwe under a standby credit arrangement. This announcement raises hopes that other lenders and donors which have been sitting […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 12.30pm. KAIZER Chiefs reached the the final of the Rothmans Cup soccer championships, despite losing 1-0 to Orlando Pirates in the second leg semifinal at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday. Chiefs carried a valuable two goal cushion from their 3-1 win in the first leg into Saturday’s match, […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 4.15pm. POST and Telecommunications Minister Jay Naidoo on the weekend unveiled South Africa’s first ever locally-built satellite which will be launched by Nasa in January. The micro-satellite, called Sunsat, cost about $6-million to build and was constructed by post-graduate engineering students at Stellenbosch University. Unveiling the satellite, Naidoo said […]

ROB DAVIES, Johannesburg | Saturday 7.30pm. THE South African rugby side on Saturday came close to an embarrassing defeat when they beat an incredibly spirited Welsh side 28-20 at Wembley Stadium in London. The Springboks looked completely out of depth against the full-strength Welsh side, drilled to perfection by former Auckland Blues coach Graham Henry. […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 5.00pm. FRANCE and South Africa signed on Thursday two agreements to expand their relations, notably with joint ventures and financial aid. One agreement calls for the appointment of a French expert charged with determining the best options for joint ventures and facilitating their establishment. Sectors deemed best suited for such […]