GHANAIAN security officials have arrested and charged a television presenter who criticised President Jerry Rawlings for going on his knees at a political rally at the weekend to canvass votes for a parliamentary candidate. Felix Odartey-Wellington, 29, described Rawlings as fraudulent and ”a con man who wants to pull the wool over our eyes.” The […]

SOUTH African diamond miner Trans Hex reported a 18.3% increase in headline earnings per share (excluding exceptionals) to 80.3 cents in the six months to September 30, the company said this week. Trans Hex – the world’s second largest alluvial diamond producer after De Beers – raised its dividend 16.7% to 14 cents. The company […]

THREE people have died of Ebola in the north Ugandan district of Gulu during the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 90 since an epidemic broke out in mid-September. Eleven people with the highly contagious viral disease were admitted to hospitals in Gulu town during the same period. All the deaths, save for […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday CONFLICT is looming between government and South Africa’s traditional leaders (amakhosi) over proposed changes to the law governing local authorities, which the leaders have rejected as “annoying and insulting”. Saying the law seeks to reduce their powers, Nkosi Mpiyezintombi Mzimela, chair of the Coalition of Traditional Leaders, said the amakhosi […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Mbabane | Wednesday THE United States has rescinded a decision to impose trade sanctions against Swaziland after the tiny kingdom amended a controversial labour law the International Labour Organisation (ILO) deemed restrictive. The US embassy in Mbabane said the outgoing administration of President Bill Clinton had decided to keep Swaziland in the Generalised […]

TOKYO Sexwale, former ANC premier of Gauteng turned businessman, has been named chairman of platinum producer Northam Platinum Ltd following the retirement of Alan Wright. The move was widely expected after Sexwale’s Mvelaphanda Platinum (Pty) Ltd (Mvela) took a controlling 22.5% stake in Northam on August 29 in an empowerment deal worth around R530m involving […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Monday SOUTH African scientists believe the source of William Shakespeare’s powerful imagery was drug-induced – and they plan to check the bard’s pipes in the hope of finding traces of cannabis. Researchers are now investigating whether the secret of the Bard’s creativity was his dope smoking, according to the Independent on […]

MALAWIAN President Bakili Muluzi has axed three key ministers in a cabinet reshuffle in a bid to improve the government’s image following damaging allegations of top-level corruption. Those dropped were former education minister Cassim Chilumpha, whose ministry is at the centre of a $2m corruption scandal, former transport minister Brown Mpinganjira and former labour minister […]

PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak’s party has secured more than 80% of the seats contested so far in Egypt’s legislative elections, a day after three people were shot dead in clashes at the polls. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP) has won 233 of the 282 seats contested in the first two rounds of voting, despite inroads by […]