SOUTH African diamonds group De Beers is considering selling its brand name to a large luxury goods group, as part of a strategic review to unlock the value of the prestigious name, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The report said the company, which controls about 60% of the sales of uncut diamonds, is in […]

BURUNDIS President Pierre Buyoya and Hutu rebel leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye have met for the first time since civil war broke out in 1993. Buyoya and Ndayikengurukiye, who heads Burundi’s main rebel movement, the Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD), met for more than three hours in talks hosted by Gabon’s President Omar Bongo. The […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday THE rand took a fresh beating on Tuesday, hitting its lowest level in weeks against the dollar and a new record low against the pound as speculators entered the fray on rumours about a delay in the much awaited Telkom initial public offering (IPO). The government denied the rumour, saying […]

SOUTH African police have launched a top-level investigation after building plans for renovation work on President Thabo Mbeki’s official residence in Cape Town were made public. National Protection Services chief Bransby Luke said he was not willing to give details as he first had to discuss the matter with national police commissioner Jackie Selebi. A […]

AN unmarried 17-year-old Nigerian girl found guilty by an Islamic court of having sex before marriage will be lashed 180 times on January 27, says the judge handling her case. Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, who was found guilty by an Islamic court last September, gave birth to a baby daughter in late December. Her punishment – […]

EIGHTEEN people who had been accused of high treason in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar are demanding compensation for three years of imprisonment. Lawyer Nassor Khamis Mohamed told the daily Mwananchi that he had served notice on the Zanzibar government demanding between 1.5 billion Tanzanian shillings ($1.9m) and 3.3 billion shillings ($4.1m) for each of […]

SUDAN’S Islamist military leader Omar al-Beshir has vowed to press on with liberating rebel-held areas of the south and with imposing Islamic law nationwide. Beshir renewed his commitment to “establishing peace” and achieving reconciliation in Sudan, and called on his opponents for reconciliation based on the principles of the “regime of salvation.” – AFP

THE Portuguese driver of an assistance vehicle in the Paris-Dakar rally was badly injured when he drove off the track and struck a mine in Western Sahara, an organiser said. Rally director Hubert Auriol said Jose Eduardo Ribeiro lost his left foot in the mine explosion when he steered off a track vehicles were supposed […]