THURSDAY, 3:30PM: Police in Cape Town said today that alleged drug dealers who claimed at the weekend that there was poison in their takeaway pizzas were right. Preliminary tests on the odd slice of two pizzas delivered to two men and a woman in Woodstock revealed traces of pesticide – a granular powder called aldicarb. […]

THURSDAY, 8.40AM: BORDER’S Makhaya Ntini became the first black cricket player to graduate from the United Cricket Board of South Africa development programme to the South African national team. He was on Wednesday named in the squad to tour Australia. “It’s a dream come true. It’s unbelievable,” said a suprised Ntini. He replaces Boland’s Roger […]

THURSDAY, 9.05AM: SPRINGBOK coach Nick Mallett has trimmed his squad to 26 and sent eight members of the squad home. “A lot of the midweek guys must go home disappointed with their efforts,” said Mallet. Justin Swart or Thinus Delport, Joe Gillingham, Breyton Paulse, Boeta Wessels. Ollie le Roux, Wium Basson, Dale Santon and Warren […]

TUESDAY, 9.15AM: TELKOM’S feud with the SA Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra) continues, with the parastatal’s latest submission for proposed price hikes in January returned with suggestions for modification. Telkom was on Monday informed that Satra will not approve the increases until Telkom changes the terms and conditions to protect customers. A Satra representative said some […]

THURSDAY, 11.00AM: The emigration tide seems to have turned, according to latest Central Statistical Service fgures. Immigration and emigration figures released on Wednesday show that less people are leaving, and more people are entering the country. The figures show a 24% decline in the number of self-declared emigrants from South Africa during July 1997 compared […]

THURSDAY, 6:30PM: THE Free State branch of the Pan Africanist Congress caused a rumpus today with the blithe admission that renegade members of the party, mainly former guerrillas, have been responsible for the string of murderous attacks on farmers, because they have no jobs or food. Agricultural union officials demanded to know why the PAC […]

THURSDAY, 5.30PM: AN American telecommunications company has announced that Africa — and South Africa in particular — will be first in the world to have access to a satellite service beamed down to portable receivers no bigger than a small radio. The US company, WorldSpace, announced on Thursday that it has raised R4,14 billion for […]

THURSDAY, 5.30PM: THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange today made up Wednesday’s losses, with the all share index rising 31 points to 6423, the industrial index climbing 35 points to 7950 and the financial index 90 points stronger at 9917. The all gold index shed 6 points to 785. The all gold index shed 6 points to […]

THURSDAY, 11:00AM: THE National Union of Mineworkers has blamed Harmony mine management for a strike by an unofficial faction of the union which has formed its own structures and forced ‘official’ shaft stewards from their offices. The union says mine management ‘could have been more proactive” in dealing with grievances in the spirit of agreements […]

THURSDAY, 3:30PM: Nigerian lawyer Tunji Braithwaite has boldly announced he will stand for election as civilian head of state next year. On Wednesday he became the first politician to take seriously the promise of strongman General Sani Achaba to hand over to a civilian government next year. Braithwaite, former leader of the now-defunct Nigerian Advance […]