THURSDAY, 11.00AM: THE Ngobeni commission into corruption in the Mpumalanga government on Wednesday produced documentary evidence showing that suspended deputy speaker Cynthia Maropeng deposited legislature cheques worth over half a million rand into her own bank account, after requisitioning the funds for a consultancy. Maropeng was left dumbstruck when commission chairman David Ngobeni produced documents […]
THURSDAY, 1.30PM: ENVIRONMENTALISTS are worried that 17 lions being sold by Mpumalanga game owner Roy Plath may be destined for the “canned lion” industry in Mozambique. “Canned” hunting refers to the practice of confining or drugging lions to make shooting them easier for hunters who do not have the skill, strength or time to track […]
TUESDAY, 6.00PM: AFTER a two-week lull in fighting, Ethiopian troops are mobilising on the common border with Eritrea, possibly preparing for a resumption of the conflict that has marred the area since May 6. The Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front, the key faction of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, on Monday called on citizens […]
TUESDAY, 4.00PM: FORMER Zimbabwean President Canaan Banana finally took the stand in his defence in the Harare High Court on Monday, and swore that he never sexually assaulted any men. Banana, who faces 11 counts of sodomy, attempted sodomy and indecent assault, told the court he has no explanation for why all nine complainants might […]
MONDAY, 5.00PM: A CAMPAIGN to collect signatures on the Internet opposing the capture of three wild dolphins by the Port Elizabeth Oceanarium has been launched by an organisation called Protect Our Dolphins, based in Port Elizabeth. Besides protesting the restriction of wild animals to a tiny pool, Pod claims the Oceanarium staff are not properly […]
Lords Neil Manthorp Cricket Lords is a funny place. The funniest moment of South Africa’s last visit in 1994 involved, almost inevitably, Fanie de Villiers. The Afrikaans school teacher cum part-time amateur car mechanic had reached the pinnacle of the game when he arrived in England and began preparations to represent his country, in a […]
Ann Eveleth The apartheid-era homeland system and rural “betterment schemes” were the worst causes of land degradation, according to a rapid appraisal of land resources conducted in the run-up to World Desertification Day on Wednesday. The study forms part of South Africa’s National Action Programme to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The […]
A special correspondent in Abuja There were few tears and fewer obsequies for General Sani Abacha, the late and brutal president of Nigeria. Wrapped in a sheet and carried to his home town of Kano in the cargo hold of a Nigerian air force jet, he arrived too late even to be buried before evening […]
Sydney Mathibe Famous and “strong” witch doctors can prosper. Ngaka Mahlakwane, who practises on the East Rand, charges R5 for bone- throwing, while Dr Zungu, well known in Vosloorus, charges R20 for the same service. These are some of the more common fees: l “Strengthening” a home: R400 to R1 000 a year. l Curing […]
Rupert Neethling and eM&G reporters The time has come, the walrus said, to think of many things; of POPs and mailbox aliases, and the hassles a computer brings (with apologies to Lewis Carroll). There has been a dramatic surge of interest in the Internet in South Africa over the past few years. It is becoming […]