THE coalition government of Guinea-Bissau is in danger of collapse after six government members from the country’s second most powerful party announced they had pulled out. The Guinea-Bissau Resistance (RGB/Bafata movement) said President Kumba Yala had not respected a political agreement and had reshuffled his cabinet this week without consulting his coalition partners. – AFP

POPULAR South African music star Brenda Fassie has arrived in the Liberian capital Monrovia to take part in celebrations marking the birthday and fourth wedding anniversary of Liberian President Charles Taylor. Thousands of Liberians lined the 45km route from Roberts International Airport to the city centre to catch a glimpse of Fassie. The singer is […]

A MPUMALANGA farmer has appeared in court in connection with the death of a man allegedly mauled by his boerboel dogs. It is alleged that Christopher Livanos’ three dogs mauled the man so badly that he had not been identified. His age could not be estimated.

HUGH NEVILL, Kinshasa | Wednesday THE Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is to swear in as president Joseph Kabila, the young and politically untested general who inherits the war-torn chaos of this huge African country a day after his murdered father and predecessor was laid to rest. Kabila was hurriedly appointed as the country’s leader […]

RE: Redistribution of wealth from white to black control Honourable Father of the Nation, with reference to your urgent memo dated October 11 2000, it gives your humble servant great pleasure to make the following recommendation: introduce Capital Gains Tax as soon as possible. Our rationale is given below. As you must know, Capital Gains […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Nairobi | Wednesday AFRICA may face more natural disasters if the world’s main economic powers do not ratify a key protocol on climate change as soon as possible, according to a top United Nations environmentalist. Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), was speaking after scientists released a report this […]

THE South African units of global oil giants Shell Group, BP Amoco Plc and Caltex Oil have cancelled plans for a supply joint venture. Caltex representative James Seutloadi said the decision was taken after consulting all stakeholders. ”We looked at the various responses of a wide section of stakeholders and thought we should withdraw from […]

ETHIOPIA has appealed for 470 000 tonnes of food aid to feed some 6.2 million people expected to be affected by drought this year. But the number of people reliant on food aid has dropped substantially from 10.5 million last year because of recent rain, said the commissioner of the state-run Disaster Prevention and Preparedness […]

THE National Directorate of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) will take over the running of the Witness Protection Programme from the Department of Justice, says the unit’s head Bulelani Ngcuka. The effectiveness of the WPP has been questioned following the recent assassination of two witnesses in the programme. They were due to give evidence in the urban […]

SWAZI farmers are selling beef from foot-and-mouth areas to smugglers, threatening to spread the disease to Mozambique. Mozambique, which has remained clear of the disease, banned all beef imports from Swaziland and South Africa in December, shortly after foot-and-mouth was detected in its southern African neighbours. Swaziland farm ministry sources said meat was being smuggled […]