BRAZILIAN aircraft-maker Embraer is set to sign a deal to sell 30 commercial jets to a South African Airways subsidiary for $2.5bn. An Embraer representative confirmed a deal was being worked out but declined to give further details. The Brazilian Valor newspaper reported Embraer would sign a deal to sell 30 ERJ-135 37-seater commercial jets […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Singapore | Monday OIL prices have inched higher on the back of the world’s biggest consumer, the United States, being battered by cold temperatures and rumours of production cuts by the OPEC producers’ cartel early next year. The market is beginning to ponder whether OPEC might move early to avoid any price collapse […]

SOUTH African industrial group Ozz Ltd plans to repurchase a total of 2.91m shares for an aggregate sum of R25.4m. Ozz said in a statement the shares would be acquired at a price of 875 cents per share on Friday, January 12, 2001 from Fedsure Life Assurance Ltd (2.4m shares) and Norwich Life SA Ltd […]

AT LEAST 25 prostitutes under the age of 16 have been arrested in raids on two Johannesburg hotels. Police said 13 adult prostitutes were also arrested in the raids at the Europa Hotel in Hillbrow and the Rosettenville Hotel in Rosettenville. The child prostitutes were taken to a place of safety and notices of prosecution […]

A 19-year-old Willowvale man is recovering in Butterworth Hospital after he amputated his penis earlier this month, hospital sources said. It is alleged the man circumcised himself after smoking dagga. “His condition has improved, though he has lost his penis,” a hospital official said. Six other circumcision initiates were reported to be in a satisfactory […]

THE Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) this week granted amnesty to safety and liaison department permanent secretary Dumisani Mafu on eight counts of murder. Mafu, 43, was also granted amnesty for a number of other offences, including five counts of attempted murder, malicious damage to property and unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives. In […]

CLAIRE KEETON, Pretoria | Saturday THE UN refugee agency is having to cut back its Africa programmes because funds from donor governments are insufficient, its southern Africa director said this week. “The UN budget for Kosovo was 90% funded. Africa only got 60% of its total budget. This means cutting down on programmes,” said Ilunga […]

EIGHT Angolans drowned while trying illegally to cross the Orange River from southern Namibia into South Africa at the weekend, Namibian police said. The eight were among 14 young Angolans who tried to enter South Africa legally through the southern Noordoewer border post but were turned back because they did not have visas. They then […]

FOUR people have been arrested in three separate drug busts on the same flight from Sao Paolo, Brazil. South African police arrested a Venezuelan mother and son at Johannesburg’s airport after 12kg of cocaine was found in their hand luggage, and a 40-year-old South African man who had 3kg of cocaine in his possession. A […]