Robert Kirby Loose cannon I must admit that corporal punishment is hardly an ideal theme for a Christmas edition. In other circumstances I wouldn’t choose something as unpleasant as the horrible practice of beating and often injuring young people with specially prepared flails. It’s just that these reflections on the educative benefits of ferocious assault […]

MORE than 200 Zimbabwean soldiers who fled into Zambia after a rebel offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been repatriated, state media reported this week. Zambian General Timothy Kazembe, head of a Joint Military Commission set up to oversee a ceasefire in the DRC, said the Zimbabwean troops, who back the DRC […]

EVARISTO CUMBANE, Maputo | Thursday FORMER Mozambican rebel chief and now opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama finally recognised the government of President Joaquim Chissano late Wednesday, after seven hours of talks on the year-old electoral dispute. In a joint communique signed by the two men, Dhlakama for the first time referred to Chissano as the president […]

THE Norwegian Nobel Institute has invited all the living peace prize laureates, among whom are former South African presidents FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, to Oslo for its centenary celebrations in 2001, the newspaper Aftenposten reported this week. The institute marks the 100th awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2001, and around […]

MICHEL LECLERCQ, United Nations | Thursday A UN panel on Wednesday recommended a total embargo on diamonds coming from Liberia, accusing Monrovia of complicity in the diamond and arms trafficking that is sustaining the conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone. The report by the five-member panel of experts appointed by UN chief Kofi Annan, concluded that […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday SOUTH African government delays in issuing a comprehensive policy framework on the liberalisation of the telecommunications market are hampering efforts by the industry’s regulator Icasa to restore investor confidence, Mandla Langa, the chairman of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), said this week. To this end, Icasa has moved […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday THE world’s largest gold producer has sold two mines in South Africa in a deal worth one billion rand, the SABC television station reported on Tuesday. AngloGold announced that it had sold the gold mines – Elandsrand and Deelkraal, situated west of Johannesburg – to a smaller rival, Harmony Gold […]

GRIFFIN SHEA, Harare | Thursday ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe downplayed his nation’s troubles on Wednesday in his state of the nation address to parliament, the first such speech he has ever given to an almost evenly split legislature. Mugabe noted that Zimbabwe’s economy “performed below expectations” in 2000, saying that the government expects to post […]

DARREN SCHUETTLER, Pretoria | Tuesday THE South African government has unveiled a draft minerals law aimed at redressing a century of white dominance of the mining industry, drawing a swift statement of concern from big mining companies. Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said the Minerals Development Bill would vest the country’s vast minerals resources […]