Johannesburg| Thursday THE South African fiscal authorities’ bid to clamp down on forex speculators has backfired, sending the rand to a record low of R11 to the dollar on Wednesday, traders said. A trader said the currency hit R10,992/$ – when some dealers would have paid more than R11 – before improving to R10,82 by […]

NIGERIAN President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday blasted university teachers as lazy, saying they never do a full day’s work, as lecturers went on strike for more pay. Visiting the Nigerian Law School in Abuja, the angry president praised the centre’s students and lecturers for ignoring a strike call by the university teachers union, known as […]

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has sacked a senior judge of the federal high court for ‘gross misconduct’, the presidency announced late Monday. Obasanjo approved the dismissal of Justice C.C. Nwaogwugwu following complaints of improper conduct in four cases sent before him last year, Obasanjo’s office said in a statement. A panel of inquiry had found […]

Cape Town | Wednesday THREE agencies who are jointly investigating South Africa’s multi-billion dollar arms procurement deal on Tuesday said they could find no evidence to suggest a flaw in the government’s contracting position. The head of the Directorate for Public Prosecutions — one of the agencies involved — said no link between officials still […]

JAN HENNOP, Johannesburg | Wednesday FROM the car-park, the museum to one of the most tragic periods in South African history does not look like much. Across the road to the right, there’s a casino. To the left, an amusement park with an array of rides where thrill seekers scream on the way down an […]

Abidjan | Tuesday AIR France is suspending flights to Abidjan in Ivory Coast in retaliation for a go-slow by staff of the African airline Air Afrique against the French carrier, airline sources said on Monday. The work to rule by unions of airport staff has targeted Air France flights to 11 African countries to force […]

THE heads of state and representatives of five African countries decided on Monday to create a regional peacekeeping force for the Central African Republic (CAR) during a summit in the Sudanese capital, officials said. The force will be made up of soldiers from the 16 nations in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa […]

AT least 50 people have died and some 150 were injured in ethnic clashes over the weekend in Ghana’s northeastern region of Bawku, police said on Tuesday. ”A minimum of 50 people have died and at least 150 were injured in the violence which broke out over the weekend,” said a police official, speaking from […]

THE body of an unidentified man was found in the Bronkhorstspruit River in the town on Monday afternoon, Pretoria police said on Tuesday. Inspector Anton Breedt said the man, who was in his 20s, had been shot in the head, arm and chest. He was naked when he was found. – Sapa