SOME 700 members of Angola’s Unita movement opened a congress here on Monday to elect a new chairman in place of Jonas Savimbi, whose hardline militarism split the group in September. Angola late last year plunged back into civil war between Unita rebels, who long fought the formerly Marxist regime after independence in 1975, and […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 11.30am. GAUTENG’S Education MEC Mary Metcalfe denied on Tuesday morning that jobs would be lost as the result of downsizing initiatives in the department. Colette Clark, acting director of labour relations for the department, said on Monday that Gauteng’s education department plans to cut 2800 posts, resulting in 1500 teachers […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 7.00pm. THE rand weakened dramatically on Tuesday, rising above the R6 to the dollar mark for the first time in months and causing anxiety in local bond markets where the yield on the R150 shot up to 15,95%. However, the rand’s weakness pushed up the gold index 13 points to […]

TWO Siamese twins born on Saturday and separated on Sunday were stable on Tuesday and remain in ventilators and on intravenous feeding at the Garankuwa Hospital. The two were born connected at the central part of the abdomen. The operation was an interim measure, ahead of a more sophisticated operation planned for six months time.

FORMER Western Cape premier Hernus Kriel, who had a heart attack at his holiday home in Kleinmond in the Western Cape on Saturday, is recovering in the Panorama Heart Clinic in Cape Town. Kriel (57) is reportedly feeling much better. SAAF TO MARION’S RESCUE THE South African Air Force is to dispatch a C-130 transport […]

FORMER Anglo American Corporation of South Africa chairman Gavin Relly died on Sunday after a short illness, the company said in a statement on Monday. Relly, who was 72, was chairman of South Africa’s largest company and the world’s largest bullion producer from 1983 to 1990. He succeeded Harry Oppenheimer and led Anglo through the […]

CHAD’S economy grew by 7% in 1998, helped by good rains which pushed up food production, according to a bulletin published by the presidency’s economic service. The Bank of France’s Franc Zone secretariat has estimated Chad’s 1997 economic growth at 6,5%, the bulletin said. A clear improvement was noted in state revenues, payment of civil […]

THE Namibian defence ministry has lifted the media blackout on the country’s involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Namibian newspaper reported on Tuesday. The decision to lift the press restrictions was taken after discussions between Defence Minister Erikki Nghimtina and the editor of The Namibian on Monday. The government imposed […]

THE three-day cricket match between Boland and West Indies ended in a draw on the final day on Tuesday. Scores: West Indies 220 and 307, Boland 135 and 123-5. Scoreboard at the close of play. West Indies first innings 220 (S.Williams 55) Boland first innings 135 (R.Lewis 4-45) West Indies second innings 307 (overnight 94-4) […]

FIVE Zimbabwean troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were killed when an air force plane crashed on the outskirts of Kinshasa, Zimbabwean defence authorities announced on Monday.”[The] Ministry of Defence regrets to announce that a ZDF (Zimbabwe Defence Forces) CASA 212 transport aircraft crashed a few kilometres outside Kinshasa killing all five […]