OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 11.00am. DINGAAN THOBELA blew his much-hyped big comeback at Nasrec on Wednesday night, fighting to a draw with Argentina’s Carlos Baldomir. The scores were 115-113 to Baldomir, 116-112 to Thobela and 114-114. It was not a sparkling performance for the South African, who simply did not show the dynamism required […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and AFP, Johannesburg | Thursday 9.30pm. THE United Nations Security Council voted on Thursday extended sanctions against Libya for a further four months to press Tripoli to surrender two Lockerbie bombing suspects. UN Security Council president Sir Jeremy Greenstock noted that the 15 members were formally offering to suspend the sanctions as soon […]

SEGUN ADEYEMI, Lagos | Thursday 6.15pm. THE Nigerian government announced on Wednesday that it is to embark on an accelerated massive importation of fuel within the next few weeks in an effort to end the prolonged fuel scarcity in the country. Speaking from the capital Lagos, special adviser on petroleum matters Aret Adams said the […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Maseru | Thursday 10.30am. THE Lesotho government and 11 opposition parties on Wednesday signed a draft bill for the creation of a transitional body to steer the kingdom to fresh elections. South African Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi, who chaired deliberations on the bill, said it will create a 24-member structure called […]

MIKE METELITS, Johannesburg | Thursday 3.00pm. A NEW twist in the Reserve Bank’s repo system of lending short-term money to banks emerged Wednesday, as the Bank overestimated market liquidity demands by about R300-million, offering R7,1-billion while tendering banks only took up R6,8-billion. This shortfall indicates that liquidity conditions in the market are easing, making banks […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 7.20pm. AGRICULTURE Minister Derek Hanekom said on Thursday that the department of agriculture and land affairs views the controversial training of Tuli elephant calves in Brits as a pilot project to determine whether it could be an alternative to culling. Hanekom said training the elephants could give them a better […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 10.30am. THE 1998 Super-12 rugby draw, released on Tuesday by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, sees the defending champions Canterbury Crusaders hosting The Chiefs in the opening match of the competition, which features regional sides from Australia and New Zealand. For a fourth consecutive year, New Zealand will host […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 11.30am. PRIZE money for the Comrades Marathon has increased dramatically, with R100000 now lined up for the winners of the mens’ and womens’ races. The Comrades Marathon Association on Tuesday announced that an increase in the entry fee from R75 to R80 has helped push the total prize money up […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lusaka | Tuesday 9.00pm. TWO days of talks aimed at ending the civil strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo ended Tuesday with the adoption, in principle, of a draft ceasefire agreement. A communique issued at the end of the talks said defence and foreign ministers from a dozen countries had also agreed […]