POLICE have seized more than 3 000kg of dagga, estimated to be worth more than R2m, in the Vaal Triangle. The drug was found at Orange Farm, Sebokeng and Evaton. Another 17 people were arrested in connection with crimes ranging from dealing dagga and burglary to assault and possession of suspected stolen property.

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki has reached across party political lines in his first cabinet shuffle since taking office with the appointment of Azapo leader Mosibudi Mangena and IFP MP Musa Zondi – but the opposition says he missed a golden opportunity to clear out some dead wood. Mangena, a highly regarded […]

THE IMF has urged authorities in Malawi to tighten monetary policy and curb government spending to combat sluggish growth and the prevalence of poverty. But International Monetary Fund executive directors also pledged financial support for a poverty reduction and growth strategy drafted by Malawi authorities. The IMF-backed program calls for growth of three percent this […]

CAPE Town will host an international conference on conservation of the southern hemisphere’s threatened seabirds at the end of January, environmental affairs and tourism ministry officials said. Over 50 delegates and observers from 17 countries are expected to attend the seven-day gathering which will be sponsored by the governments of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand […]

SOUTH Africa’s Competition Commission says it sought to scupper a joint venture by local units of BP, Caltex and Shell because it would have squeezed competition once the domestic industry was deregulated. Earlier, global oil giants Shell Group, BP Amoco Plc and Caltex Oil cancelled plans for the Trident supply and distribution joint venture after […]

SOUTH Africa’s Del Monte food group has signalled it would agree to a R1.15bn bid from Italian counterpart Cirio, describing the cash offer as ”fair and reasonable” in a note to shareholders. Cirio said in December it had launched a cash offer of 525 cents per share for the entire capital of Del Monte Royal […]

MARIAM ISA, Johannesburg | Wednesday SOUTH Africa’s gold giants are set to unveil better earnings for the final quarter of 2000, but a merger between the two largest producers may eclipse the results, say analysts. Speculation has mounted in the past week that world leader AngloGold would launch a bid for its smaller rival Gold […]

HILARY GUSH, Johannesburg | Tuesday SOUTH Africa’s M-Cell, which owns mobile phone operator MTN, says the $285m it paid for its Nigerian GSM licence was at the high end of its expectations and would hit earnings this year. ”It would have an impact on our earnings,” M-Cell chair Irene Charnley told a news conference, without […]