THE Zambian state has closed its case in the trial of 77 soldiers charged with treason over a coup attempt against President Frederick Chiluba in October 1997, defence lawyers said on Wednesday. “The state closed its case on Tuesday, and we are now trying to have some of the detainees released because some of them […]
SIERRA Leonean Finance Minister James Jonah said on Thursday said that Nigerian-led Ecomog troops are in control of all strategic points in the capital, Freetown, a day after rebels stormed the city. “All the major strategic points are fully under Ecomog control, including the Wilberforce barracks [Ecomog HQ],” Jonah said. “The rebels never made a […]
LIBYA warned Seoul on Thursday that South Korean companies operating in the North African country will be expelled if the government does not back off from supporting United States attacks on Iraq. Libya’s official news agency Jana reported that, “South Korea…must know that its companies operating in the Arab states would be expelled in case […]
ZAMBIA’S inflation levels soared to 30% at the close of 1998, the highest figure recorded in the last 21 months. According to the December edition of Zambia’s Central Statistics Office’s Consumer Price Index (CSO), the inflation levels continued to increase despite government’s reduced targets. The annualised inflation rate for December stood at 30,6% from the […]
THE United Nations Population Fund announced the appointment of Nigerian literary legend Chinua Achebe as its goodwill ambassador on Thursday. The appointment will see Achebe, currently professor of literature at New York’s Bard college, acting as a voice for the population fund on such issues as family planning, gender equity and reproductive health. Achebe, author […]
A PROMINENT traditional leader and his son were among three men shot dead in an ambush in Ematimatolo in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands on Tuesday morning, according to a police report on Wednesday. Senior Superintendent Henry Budhram said Themba Nyoka (55), his son Sicelo (21) and Sipanelo Dladla (30) were shot dead while travelling along the […]
KWAZULU-NATAL traffic police issued close to 400000 traffic fines last year, provincial traffic spokesperson Logan Maistry said on Wednesday. Traffic offences included: 242687 for speeding, 3442 for overtaking on barrier lines,17099 for driver’s licence offences, 24004 for not wearing seat belts, 6041 for overloading and 68187 for vehicle defects. Maistry said 1713 people were arrested […]
ISAAC MOFOKENG (29), the man accused of shooting Johannesburg Zoo’s Max the gorilla, fell asleep during his trial in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. He has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, including rape, abduction, housebreaking and malicious damage to property (Max the gorilla). Mofokeng has managed to delay his trial through bizarre behaviour […]
FIFA on Monday suspended Cameroon from all international competition for an indefinite period following a ticketing scandal which surfaced at the World Cup in France.”FIFA is forced to suspend the Cameroon Federation (Fecafoot) with immediate effect and for an indefinite period,” FIFA said in a statement.FIFA accuses Fecafoot of not applying an emergency plan to […]
TANZANIA’s first president Julius Nyerere has the government for its decision to privatise public firms. Addressing the fourth provincial chapter of the East African Province of the Holy Ghost, the elder statesman said that to privatise the economy of a country like Tanzania, where there is no private sector, is to “foreignise” it.