PAUL KIRK, Durban | Friday INTELLIGENCE agencies and the state attorney this week sought to stop the Mail & Guardian from publishing information about documents that expose serious irregularities in the R50-billion arms deal. Shortly after the M&G, asked Minister of Trade and Industry Alec Erwin to comment on the documents, Pretoria state attorney Caroline […]

SOUTH African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, who wants to become the world’s next “space tourist,” could make his flight onboard a Russian craft as early as April, the head of the Russian space agency said on Thursday. Shuttleworth’s flight is possible either in April next year on a Soyuz “taxi flight” to the International Space Station […]

THE Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (Apcon) said on Thursday that radio and television advertisements for tobacco and alcohol would be banned starting next year. Apcon chairman Olu Falomo said the council had also banned hoardings advertising tobacco or alcoholic beverages at sporting events. Falomo said manufacturers could sponsor sporting events but could not display […]

THE National Society for Human Rights yesterday released the names of three more Namibian Defence Force soldiers it alleges died while fighting Unita in southern Angola last month. The NSHR statement was mainly aimed at backing up its earlier claims that eight NDF soldiers were killed in combat with Unita in July. The human rights […]

ZIMBABWE’S President Robert Mugabe is expected to declare a general amnesty for nearly 3 000 prisoners in a bid to decongest the country’s overcrowded jails, a cabinet minister has said. Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa said Mugabe would soon pardon 2 987 inmates to reduce the prison population, according to a cabinet […]

CHRIS MCGREAL, Harare | Friday ZIMBABWE’S president, Robert Mugabe, is preparing to declare a state of emergency, and possibly martial law, in response to US legislation imposing sanctions on the country’s leaders because of political violence, according to a Harare newspaper. The report came amid a fresh wave of violence against white farmers and their […]

GLENDA DANIELS, Johannesburg | Friday Striking motor manufacturing workers are about to decide whether to accept intervention by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to reach agreement on a wage deadlock. About 21 000 National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) motor manufacturing members went on strike on Monday and about 5 […]

MOVES led by the World Health Organisation for a global convention to cut smoking will increase poverty and strangle the economy, Malawian farm leaders were quoted as saying on Wednesday. They said that about 80% of the country’s 10 million people live in rural areas and are dependent on tobacco production. WHO is leading a […]

MAIL & GUARDIAN chief photographer Ruth Motau has been honoured for her work at an awards ceremony sponsored by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. This is the second year the SABC acknowledged women who have made a difference in the media and 28 women were honoured last Friday. Motau received the same award last year. […]

ITALY has donated two billion lire (about one million dollars) to help rebuild health services in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations children’s fund Unicef said on Thursday. This brings to eight million dollars contributions so far received towards Unicef’s appeal for DRC for this year, which totals $15-million. Unicef executive director Carol […]