SOUTH Africa’s summer holiday road death toll has reached 331 – the highest in the last two years on the country’s roads. The highest provincial death toll so far is in the Eastern Cape, where 55 people have been killed in 30 fatal crashes. KwaZulu-Natal has seen 54 fatalities, Gauteng 47 and the Western Cape […]

MARIANNE MERTEN, Cape Town | Monday THE controversial delays around establishing a statutory body to distribute national lottery proceeds has taken another twist with the allocation of emergency funding to some cash-strapped organisations. Although non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have welcomed the pre-Christmas emergency relief, some have questioned the legality of the once-off disbursement and say government […]

EMSIE FERREIRA, Cape Town | Monday SOUTH Africa is luring tourists to view the whimsical side of a country known for its beaches and bush – visits to houses haunted by aristocratic ghosts and audiences with a rain queen. Cape Town, if the brochures are to be believed, has several dozen ghosts that spook the […]

A 12-year-old Egyptian boy has been killed while trying to protect his dog from his cousin, also 12, who was striking the animal with an iron bar, police said. The boy had been waiting for his cousin at home. When the cousin arrived, the dog jumped on him and the cousin warded the dog off […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday THE African Mineral and Energy Forum (AMEF), which recently signed a black empowerment accord with the established fuel industry giants, has appealed to government to unlock an alleged monopoly in the supply of jet fuel at Johannesburg International Airport. Accusing South African Petroleum Industry (SAPIA) members of being “obstructive” on […]

UP to 40 civilians have been killed in a wave of massacres across Algeria attributed to armed Islamists, in the latest bloody turn to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Fifteen travellers were killed west of the Algerian capital late on Sunday when an armed group opened fire on a bus. On Saturday at least […]

AVIS Southern Africa has agreed to sell its 75% stake in timeshare firm RCI Southern Africa to RCI Europe for R272.7m in cash – a capital gain of R90m over the original purchase price. It said RCI SA had been successful business, but it was increasingly competing for capital with Avis’ car rental and fleet […]

DE BEERS has estimated this year’s overall diamond output from Angola, potentially one of the world’s richest producers, at $750m. De Beers does not have any mining operations in the war-torn southern African state, but is prospecting for gems there. A De Beers representative said the company has three prospecting concessions, but was only working […]

RAMPAGING elephants have ravaged vast stretches of farmlands and sacked 44 villages in north Nigeria. Government officials and witnesses said the elephants strayed from a nearby game reserve over the weekend and attacked villages in Gwoza, Chibok, Damboa, Biu, Kwaya-Kusar and Bayo Local Government Areas. The elephants destroyed farmlands, cash crops and ”economic trees”. The […]

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 […]