Harare | Tuesday ZIMBABWE’S state-owned press rounded on Monday on neighbouring South Africa, accusing President Thabo Mbeki of “betrayal” for reported criticism of President Robert Mugabe’s government and policies. In a strongly worded editorial, the government daily the Herald said that the country felt betrayed that Mbeki had joined “the fight against Zimbabwe” alongside “architects […]

Johannesburg | Tuesday THE Treatment Action Campaign has reacted angrily to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s claim that the debate on anti-retroviral Aids drugs is misplaced. ”A discussion of anti-retrovirals in a country with 200 000 people dying a year is hardly misplaced unless you attach no worth to those lives,” TAC national secretary Mark Heywood […]

Johannesburg | Tuesday SCORES of people including Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang gathered outside the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to protest against the rape and abuse of children. Two men will appear in the court later in the day in connection with the rape of a five-month-old baby girl in Joubert Park in the city’s […]

Nairobi | Monday LAWYERS representing some 220 members of the Maasai and Samburu in compensation claims against the British army have said they believe the UK government could now be willing to settle the claims. A London-based lawyer, Martyn Day, described a meeting with UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials on Thursday as “fruitful”, adding […]

Durban | Friday A DEAL between Russian diamond monopoly Alrosa and South African diamond giant De Beers is likely to be delayed until next year, sources in Moscow told the Johannesburg daily newspaper Business Day. The current contract between Alrosa, which is the second-biggest diamond producer in the world, and De Beers for the sale […]

Mbabane | Monday KING Mswati III of Swaziland has announced a 15-member team to draft a new constitution within the next 18 months. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Chief Maweni Simelane made the announcement on state radio late on Saturday. He said international experts would assist in drafting the constitution. The team includes only […]

Johannesburg | Monday SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki has stepped up criticism of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, saying his counterpart could no longer expect protection while the political crisis there deepens, a newspaper reported Sunday. “He wants Mugabe to know that he should not expect protection any more. Up to now we have rallied behind […]

SIX children, one as young as four, have been arrested in Senegal for killing a two-year-old boy by stuffing sand in his mouth, police said on Friday. The six boys were arrested on Thursday after the discovery of the young victim’s body partly buried on the outskirts of St. Louis, on the Atlantic coast of […]

THREE miners died and four were injured in a gold mine at Carletonville on Saturday when an earth tremor caused a gallery to cave in, Anglogold mining company reported. Two survivors were hospitalised with serious injuries in the cave in west of Johannesburg. The accident occurred 2 100 metres underground while the victims were carrying […]