POLICE shot at and beat civilians in Zanzibar as tensions mounted amid calls for the total cancellation of widely condemned presidential and general elections. At least one riot policeman in Zanzibar town opened fire indiscriminately at a group of about 300 protesters who had been chanting “Bye, bye CCM,” meaning the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi, […]

SUDAN has decided to end custom duties for nations in the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), state television said. President Omar al-Beshir issued a decree cancelling the tariff on the eve of his departure to a COMESA summit in Zambia. Sudan and nine other countries will sign an agreement at the summit […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Tuesday FORMER anti-apartheid cleric and now director-general in the Presidency, Reverend Frank Chikane, says he wants those responsible for him being at death’s door four times to admit it and apologise. Speaking outside the Pretoria High Court after testifying in the trial of apartheid chemical warfare expert Dr Wouter Basson, Chikane […]

THE South African government has announced its intention to sell about 30% of state owned Eskom’s 24 power stations, in a move that will cut debt and open the market to competition, the Bloomberg news service reported. Sivi Gounden, director general of the department of public enterprises, said the assets would be offered to multinational […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Tuesday US-BASED watchdog group Human Rights Watch has slammed South Africa for exporting weapons to countries where they risk fuelling conflicts. The group said in a report that half of the 10 top destinations for South African arms between 1996 and 1998 – India, Algeria, Colombia, Pakistan and Congo (Brazzaville) – […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Tuesday SOUTH Africa gained more than R42m annually from postal trading with countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, the SA Post Office said this week. Around R30m was received from 957 000kg of letter mail dispatched to the 14 nations in the region each year, said post office […]

THE Namibian media has been asked by government to suspend reporting on violence against women and children, the Namibian Press Agency reported. Namibia’s Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare, Netumbo Ndaitwah, said she wanted to compare domestic violence statistics when they were published or broadcast and when they were not. She said the measure […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday SOUTH Africa’s controversial purchase of more than R30bn of military equipment is to come under the spotlight after a parliamentary committee found that “improper influence” was probably exerted in the government’s choice of weapons suppliers. An “independent and expert forensic investigation” is needed into claims against the purchase of […]

PLANS for a major nationwide strike during the December holiday season by 10000 petrol attendants are going ahead after a first bid to resolve their wage dispute with employers failed, says the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa). The employers, represented by the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), say any raises depend on the […]

MEMBERS of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) have taken nine out of 18 seats won on Monday in the second stage of parliamentary elections, official results showed. Isolated clashes and arson attacks flared after the results were announced in some regions of the Nile Delta, where scores of people were arrested […]