OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kinshasa | Tuesday 2.15pm. THE central bank of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will stop printing money on Tuesday in an effort to halt the collapse of the local franc, whose value has more than halved in three months. At the same time, proposed government monopolies on the sale of gold and diamonds […]

President Nelson Mandela has expressed satisfaction with discussions he had with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 9.00pm. A CROWD of several hundred people cheered as 24 Sierra Leonean army officers convicted of treason were hooded, tied to poles and executed by soldiers shooting volleys of machine-gun fire. The convicts included two former chiefs of staff and Colonel FY Koroma, the brother of former junta leader Johnny […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Geneva | Monday 7.30pm. THE United Nations’ chief internal overseer Karl Paschke confirmed on Monday that his office was investigating several cases of corruption at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Africa. Paschke, who is in Geneva for one of his two annual visits, confirmed his office has “ongoing” investigations into a […]

THOMAS HIRENEE ATENGA, Paris | Monday 11.00pm. DRUG production and abuse are on the increase in Africa, and so is money laundering, according to a new report by a Paris-based institution that monitors illegal substances. The Observatoire Geopolitique des Drogues (OGD – Geopolitical Observatory for Drugs) says in a new report that a trend observed […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 8.30pm. THE Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Monday granted amnesty to former Azanian People’s Liberation Army cadre Steven Dolo for his role an attack on the Lady Grey police station in January 1992. Dolo was previously jailed for the attempted murder of eight people. In passing judgment, the amnesty […]

DAVID LE PAGE, Johannesburg | Friday 6.00pm. THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange soared on Friday following Thursday’s surprise 0,25% interest rate cut from the United States Federal Reserve Bank. Its overall 5% increase was led by the financial index which rose 7,92%. Adding to the glow brought by the rate cut was positive international response to […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 8.30pm. A BIGTIME hijacker serving 125 years in the ultra-maximum security C-Max prison in Pretoria has blown the whistle on police corruption, telling how police provide escorts for hijacked cars, how crooked cops destroy dockets, and how a R10000 bribe got him out of jail. The Sunday Times reports that […]

Robert Mugabe is desperately trying to shore up the teetering Laurent Kabila, write Howard Barrell and Iden Wetherell Congolese rebels, flushed by their victory this week over thousands of government and foreign troops in an eight-day battle for the key town of Kindu, are regrouping for a two-pronged assault southwards on the diamond-mining centre of […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 9.30pm. THIRTY young elephants at the heart of a fierce row about animal cruelty are to stay with trainers accused of inhumane treatment for at least another week, an official said on Friday. The plight of the elephants has divided organisations dedicated to animal welfare, some of whose activists have […]