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 […]

“IMPORTANT differences” remain as talks aimed at finalising the peace between Horn of Africa neighbours Ethiopia and Eritrea broke off last week, says an Ethiopian government official. International mediation will resume in “two to three weeks” with diplomats shuttling between Addis Ababa and Asmara, he said. A source close to the talks said the two […]

AN unemployed man who allegedly burnt his grandmother to ashes after she refused to let him look for work in “evil” Johannesburg has been remanded in custody. Goodwill Nyundu, 20, of KaBokweni near White River in Mpumalanga, has refused to make a statement to police since his arrest on September 5 and has been unable […]

AFRICA’S first Free Trade Area (FTA) will be launched in the Zambian capital Lusaka this week despite a gloomy backdrop of civil conflict, an AIDS crisis and crippling external debt, analysts and officials said. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa’s (COMESA) FTA, mooted 17 years ago, would be the first step towards full […]

EVELYN LEOPOLD, United Nations | Tuesday INTERNATIONAL diamond dealers are still trading freely with Angolan rebels, whose officials are functioning freely in a number of countries despite sanctions and a ”name and shame” report, says a UN report. The report, from a panel appointed by the Security Council’s Angola sanctions committee, was the first update […]

South Africa’s AngloGold Ltd has suggested it could cut future dividends to fund capital expenditure. The world’s largest gold mining company is aiming to reduce its debt to around US$950m, but at the same time faces capital expenditure of around $325m annually over the next two years, AngloGold officials told a media and analysts teleconference. […]

ZAMBIA’S Supreme Court has declared founding president Kenneth Kaunda a Zambian citizen, ending a protracted battle that prevented the independence leader from contesting the 1996 general election. Kaunda, 76, ruled the former British colony from independence in 1964 until he was ousted as president by Frederick Chiluba in multi-party elections in 1991. In 1999 Kaunda, […]

JUSTIN ARENSTEIN, Nelspruit | Tuesday MPUMALANGA Province has reiterated its ban on government hospitals issuing AZT or other anti-Aids drugs to rape survivors, despite urgent representations by rape counsellors, church groups and political parties. Health MEC Sibongile Manana said in a statement that the provincial administration had reviewed and reaffirmed its decision not to allow […]