MALAWIAN President Bakili Muluzi has dissolved his cabinet amid allegations of corruption levelled at some of his ministers, government officials said on Monday. In a statement issued from the presidential palace in the commercial city of Blantyre on Sunday, Muluzi gave no formal reason for his action. The current cabinet stands dissolved with immediate effect, […]

ZIMBABWE President Robert Mugabe said his office will run the transport and energy ministry after its minister resigned over an acute three-month-old fuel crisis, state media reported on Sunday. Transport and Energy Minister Enos Chikowore quit on Friday and the state media blamed his ministry for failing to ensure adequate fuel supplies. “I have accepted […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Bombay | Monday 2.00pm INDIA’S new cricket captain Sourav Ganguly admitted on Monday he had no immediate cure for the nation’s dwindling fortunes, and urged fans to have patience. “I don’t have a magic wand,” the stylish left-hander told reporters. “A captain is, after all, as good as the team under him. “The […]

FOUR New York City police officers accused of murdering an unarmed Guinean immigrant in a hail of gunfire last February were acquitted of all charges on Friday. Officers Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon, Kenneth Boss and Richard Murphy were cleared of second-degree murder and other charges in the slaying of Amadou Diallo, a street vendor from […]

THE welfare department spent only 0,7% of its 1998 budget on poverty relief, according to a report by the auditor general quoted in the Sunday Independent. Auditor General Shauket Fakie found that the national department spent about R1,4-million of the R204-million it was allocated for poverty relief in 1998/99. The report also found that a […]

ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Pretoria | Monday 9.00am. IF there has been a legitimate criticism of star-studded Sundowns in the past it centred around the ability of Roger Feutmba and his not-so-limited company to claw out of deep holes. The often sublime skills were never in question, just the mental and physical strength when confronted with opponents […]

JUDGMENT in the trial of Lawrie Fraser has been postponed to March 23 in the Johannesburg Regional Magistrate’s Court. Fraser is charged with conspiring to kidnap his biological son, Timothy Funnell. The baby was kidnapped in Malawi on February 15, 1997, from his adoptive parents, Dr Barry Funnell and his wife Julie. Timothy, then a […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Yangon | Monday 9.00am. SOUTH African James Kingston romped to a 10-shot victory in the $200000 Myanmar Open in Yangon on Sunday, firing a five-under-par 67 to clinch the crown in style. Kingston completed a wire-to-wire victory in convincing fashion to remain well clear of his nearest challenger, compatriot Craig Kamps. Myanmar’s Kyi […]

CASH-IN-TRANSIT robbers have escaped with 12 boxes of cash after killing a security guard and injuring two others. The armed gang of approximately 12 thieves attacked an armoured vehicle near Springs on the East Rand on Monday afternoon. Police spokesman Andy Pieke said the criminals, who were driving two stolen BMW’s and two bakkies, ambushed […]

TWO fires raging in southern Ethiopia for 17 days have destroyed up to 30000 hectares of forest, as well as killing animals and burning homes. The blazes are still far from under control, according to Ethiopia’s deputy agriculture minister, Belay Ijigu, who has appealed for international aid to fight the fire. He said that the […]