WEDNESDAY, 11.30AM THE official inflation rate in December 1997 was an annualised 6,1%, according to the Central Statistical Service, 0,7 percentage points lower than November’s figure. However, the average inflation rate for the whole year was 8,6%, some 1,2 percentage points higher than the 7,4% recorded in 1996 and 0,1 percentage points lower than 1995’s […]

TUESDAY, 5.00PM: WATER Affairs and Forestry Minister Kader Asmal on Tuesday unveiled a far-reaching new Water Bill that puts an end to private ownership of water. Asmal said in terms of the proposed new law, the right to use water will no longer be allocated primarily on the basis of land ownership, with allocations to […]

TUESDAY, 5.30PM: A SOLID day’s trading helped Johannesburg Stock Exchange industrial shares better themselves. Gold stocks fell on weaker bullion prices, but not as much as they could have, said dealers. The positive mood on the markets is probably linked to fewer worries about the Asian economies and a relatively stable Wall Street, despite the […]

TUESDAY, 12.00NOON: THE court application by the SA Rugby Football Union to pre-empt a judicial commission of inquiry into its affairs got off to a fiery start in the Pretoria High Court on Monday when Sarfu lawyers attacked President Nelson Mandela’s approval of the commission. Senior advocate Mike Maritz, representing Sarfu, the Gauteng Lions, Mpumalanga […]

MONDAY, 12.30PM: SOUTH Africa’s Under-19 cricket team may well be through to the final of the MTN Under-19 World Cup, if they can beat Sri Lanka. The tenacious South Africans beat New Zealand by five wickets at Newlands on Sunday after being set a target of 195. South Africa were, however, put under quite a […]

MONDAY, 12.30PM: TIGER Woods’ prediction came true when he beat Ernie Els in a play-off for the Johnnie Walker Classic title after being eight shots adrift entering the last day. Woods shot a 65, and then went on to beat Els on the second hole of a play-off with a 15-foot birdie putt. Woods had […]

MONDAY, 2.30PM: ZIMBABWEAN opener Grant Flower scored his first century in one-day cricket to take Zimbabwe to an imposing total of 281 for six in their third and final one-day international against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Monday. Flower, who was dropped twice by Sanath Jayasuriya on two and 18, made full use of his […]

Janine Stephen ‘I tell you what,” said local resident Jean George in a hushed tone, “that American lady was half bare.” Nominated for the 1997 Adult Video awards’ Best Group Sex Scene and Best Female Performer of the Year, United States porn star Christi Lake brought reporters flocking to Parow Industria on the dusty outskirts […]

Andrew Muchineripi: Soccer The national team returns to its African roots on Saturday with a regional championship first-round match against Namibia at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek. Since clinching qualification for the World Cup last August with a tense home victory over Congo, the African Nations Cup holders have met France, Germany, Brazil, Czech Republic, […]

Melvyn Minnaar : Potable pleasures Tradition has been trashed. That’s the general view – not only in Matieland, Melville and Malmesbury, but also in Mozambique – of the terrible Tassenberg Tragedy. The most famous and best-selling red wine in our country has been bastardised. Tassenberg’s label tells a new, sad truth: the contents in the […]