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 […]

borders Gregory Mthembu-Salter `Beware,” reads a sticker, “you may be swallowed by a pothole.” The advice seems apt as our taxi bumps its way from the Zambian copperbelt town of Chingola to the Kasumbalesa Congolese border post. At a roadblock, the policeman argues with the driver. The dispute rages until the policeman gives up. “He […]

Howard Barrell and Stuart Hess Minister of Health Nkosazana Zuma has vigorously defended her decision not to allow the state to pay for pregnant HIV-positive women to be treated with AZT, an expensive drug that could reduce the risk of their children being born with the virus. The decision by Zuma and the nine provincial […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 10.00am. COST of local telephone calls will rise by a substantial 19,2% from next year, Telkom announced on Thursday. This increase follows rises of 25% and 28,4% in 1998 and 1997 respectively, making it the third successive year that Telkom will institute an above-inflation increase. The rising cost of local […]

The Judicial Services Commission this week signalled the end of the old boys’ club on the Bench, writes Mungo Soggot The judiciary was shaken to its roots this week when the commission which regulates appointments to the Bench selected junior black judges for key posts instead of senior white candidates. The Judicial Services Commission sent […]

Wally Mbhele The African National Congress says the credibility of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report will be questioned if the commission continues to refuse to meet the party before it releases its findings. ANC officials are demanding a meeting with the commission to discuss the report’s implications for the party. The commission has […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Thursday 8.00pm. STATE witnesses in the Bronkhorstspriut heist trail were offered cars, houses and salaries to testify, counsel for three of the accused suggested in the Pretoria high Court on Friday. Fifteen men are have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attenmpted murder, robbery and car theft. The court heard […]