SOUTH Africa’s Natalie Grandin qualified for the semifinal of the girls’ singles at the Australian Hardcourt International junior championships in Melbourne on Thursday. Grandin beat Australian Melissa Dowse 7-5, 6-4 in a quarterfinal match. Grandin’s doubles partner and fellow South African Nicole Rencken went down to sixth seed Katherine Basternakova 2-6, 2-6. However, Rencken and […]

THE average hotel room and bed occupancy rates have been increasing since July 1998 with the average hotel room occupancy rate for November 1998 increasing by 2,6% compared with November 1997. Increases were reported in 5 of the 9 provinces. The largest increases were reflected by the Free State Province where room occupancy rose 11,4% […]

THE real value of building plans passed has continued to show a declining trend since the second half of 1996, falling by 11,6% in the first eleven months of 1998, the latest release from Statistics South Africa on Wednesday indicates. The real value of plans fell by R1,8-billion to R13,7-billion compared with the same period […]

ZIMBABWE’S bankers are reacting negatively to new regulations on currency trading. On Wednesday, Zimbabwe Reserve Bank Governor Leonard Tsumba announced that any bank exceeding its foreign exchange limit of US$2-million during the course of trading will have its licence revoked. Bankers say this is a another move to tighten control over foreign currency trading. By […]

BRITAIN will help the Southern African Development Community assess the feasability of a free trade agreement with the European Union, the British High Commission said on Tuesday. “The aim is to provide SADC with clear advice and recommendations for a consistent and coherent trade policy for the year 2000 and beyond,” the High Commission said […]

STELLENBOSCH University’s satellite, South Africa’s first to be fully locally developed, is still earth bound after the seventh postponement in the launch of the United States rocket carrying Sunsat. University spokesperson Douglas Davis said on Wednesday that the launch of the Delta II rocket by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration from Vandenburg air […]

THE Medical University of Southern Africa re-opened on Wednesday, two weeks after closing its doors because students owed over R56,1-million in fees. Medunsa vice chancellor and principal, Professor Thibdi Mokgokong, said on Wednesday that some students have not paid fees for last year, while others fraudulently claim they cannot afford the fees. “These students are […]

THE Ivorian government on Thursday announced a reduction of nearly 90-billion CFA francs in its 1999 annual expenditure budget, citing the shortfall in prices of the country’s export earners. Nearly 75% of Cote d’Ivoire’s annual revenue comes from the exports of cocoa, coffee, pineapples, rubber and banana, which are all experiencing price slumps on the […]

FORMER Dusi champion John Edmonds took an early, slim lead in the Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon after an exciting first stage on Thursday. Edmonds gained the lead with five minutes to the finish to clock 3:18:32. For most of the morning favourite Wayne Volek, Kelby Murray and Cape paddler Martin Dreyer vied for the lead. […]

JAKE GERWEL, a close aide to President Nelson Mandela, said on Wednesday that he detected a desire by Libya to conclude the Lockerbie affair “as speedily as possible”. Gerwel, who travelled to Tripoli in a renewed bid to break the deadlock, gave an upbeat assessment of the talks in a BBC interview.Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi […]