TRADING group Lonrho Africa said on Monday that it has completed its sale of Lonrho Africa Cotton, the holding company of its cotton ginning operation in Zambia, to the unit of a US cotton merchant for $5,85-million. Lonrho Africa, which was demerged from the mining interests of the late Tiny Rowland’s Lonrho empire in 1998, […]

JOANETTE Kruger has withdrawn from the South African Fed Cup team to play in a Euro/Africa Group One qualifying tournament in La Manga, Spain, next week. Kruger’s teammate Liezel Horn said that she received an e-mail from Kruger where she said that she was carrying a knee injury and did not want to jeopardise the […]

ZAMBIAN Defence Minister Chitalu Sampa on Wednesday accused Angolan government soldiers of entering the country and attacking Zambian troops patrolling the northwestern border. Sampa said at least one Zambian soldier was killed and three were wounded in two attacks last month along the border with the war-torn Angola, which has accused Lusaka of backing the […]

BAFANA Bafana are rated 20th in the latest Fifa world football rankings, a jump of four places. Brazil continue to lead the rankings, with the Czech Republic remaining in second spot ahead of world champions. Egypt moved up five places to 32, and Ghana recorded the biggest improvement to jump ten places to 47th thanks […]

JUDICIAL authorities said on Tuesday they had frozen accounts worth over 600 million euros belonging to late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha in a move related to a Nigerian investigation into Abacha’s finances. Eight bank accounts holding shares worth 671 million euros at the Luxembourg subsidiary of a foreign bank had been frozen, Deputy Chief Prosecutor […]

FINANCE Minister Trevor Manuel said the weakening of the rand could be attributed to the US currency’s strength more than rand weakness. “There is so much uncertainty and so much turmoil, and what is often read as weakening of some currencies is inordinate strengthening of the dollar against large baskets of currencies,” Manuel told parliament’s […]

DONORS are concerned about hold-ups in the delivery of emergency aid in Ethiopia, including some 16000 mt donated by the European Union which has remained in Djibouti Port for 18 days. There is “a greater need for flexibility” instead of a “tendency towards centralisation” during the present crisis, humanitarian sources said. The Ministry of Transport […]

A FIRE has ripped through the domestic wing of Lagos airport, destroying dozens of buildings and property worth millions of dollars. Shocked officials said on Wednesday that the fire broke outin the early hours of the morning, during a fierce electrical storm, and first indications suggested it might have been sparked by a bolt of […]

FORMER South African cricket coach Bob Woolmer has joined the ranks of the sceptics in the Hansie Cronje betting scandal. Cronje was sacked as national captain last month after admitting taking money from a bookmaker for providing information. Writing in The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday Woolmer said he had initially defended Cronje. “I now feel […]

DEON POTGIETER, Johannesburg | Wednesday 10.30am SOUTH Africa’s Frans Botha has come out firing in reaction to criticisms about his July 15 bout with Lennox Lewis for the universal heavyweight world title. Botha claims that he is the best heavyweight around, saying: “Believe me, the guys out there are all over-rated.” “Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Mike […]