OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Wednesday OPPOSITION parties and political analysts across the board have slammed South Africas ruling ANC for trying to control a probe into alleged corruption in the governments massive arms buying programme, saying parliament’s oversight role over government had been placed under threat. Democratic Alliance deputy leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said […]

A SWISS pharmacologist has told the trial of chemical warfare expert Dr Wouter Basson in the Pretoria High Court that he undertook a feasibility study for Basson aimed at determining the marketability of a SA Defence Force front company, the Roodeplaat Research Laboratories at Irene near Pretoria. Basson has pleaded not guilty to 61 charges […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Wednesday THE Department of Correctional Services may release jailed cleric Allan Boesak on parole in two weeks, three months earlier than they initially indicated, the Cape Argus reports. If this happens, the former apartheid activist would have spent eight months of his 36-month sentence in prison, the newspaper said. This […]

MALAWI police have intensified the country’s campaign against small-scale marijuana growers, warning that both growers and smugglers would be charged. Small-scale subsistence growers have traditionally been ignored by Malawi police, who arrested 1 364 traffickers and confiscated roughly 288 tonnes of the narcotic during 2000. Malawi marijuana is reputed to be amongst the best in […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday WORLD number one gold producer AngloGold posted a R132m net loss in the fourth quarter of 2000, due mainly to R700m in asset impairments reflecting a lower gold price. Operating profit rose 9% to R889m in the quarter to December 31, while headline earnings improved 1% to R430m. But the […]

GROWTH in South Africa’s broadly defined M3 money supply accelerated to 7.58% in the year to December from 6.56% in November, dampening hopes of a quick cut in rates. It slowed to 11.07% from 11.84% in November versus forecasts of a modest quickening to 12.1%. – Reuters

NIGERIAN President Olusegun Obasanjo, facing widespread criticism of the quality of his cabinet and the performance of the economy, has sacked 10 of his 49 ministers – but no key ministers in the economic and finance sectors were dropped, and political analysts said the list of nominees to replace the 10 would disappoint those who […]

JIM WOLF, Washington | Wednesday A FLAW in software that helps drive the Internet could let hackers disrupt Web operations worldwide unless corrected quickly, a US Defence Department-funded research centre said this week. Electronic intruders seizing on the newly discovered vulnerability could gain control of domain name servers (DNS), which translate easy-to-remember names – such […]

THE United Nations has appealed for $353m to provide food and other relief supplies to 13 million drought victims in five countries in the Horn of Africa. A UN official said famine had been avoided last year in the region, which has a chronic food shortage after three consecutive years of poor rains. But fresh […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Wednesday ZIMBABWES Supreme Court has delivered a stinging rebuke to President Robert Mugabe, overturning a presidential decree which sought to ban challenges against results of last year’s parliamentary election, even where corrupt or illegal practices were committed. Ruling in favour of an appeal by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change […]