LIBERIAN President Charles Taylor, who successfully negotiated the release of UN soldiers held hostage by the Sierra Leone rebel group RUF, said on Tuesday that the freedom was given “unconditionally.” “I thank God that I was able to convince them (RUF) to do the right thing, to release all the hostages unconditionally,” Taylor told a […]

FIVE Russian pilots set free by Angola’s Unita rebels have arrived in Zambia after walking for many days through war-torn Angola. The airmen, whose two planes had been flying on contract for aid agencies, delivering food to government-held towns, were shot down by Unita last year. Officials said the famished pilots had arrived in the […]

SOUTH Africa may send a battalion of combat troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect UN military observers in the volatile city of Kisangani. The Star reports that President Thabo Mbeki may decide as early as Monday on whether or not to send the troops. South Africa’s ambassador to the UN Dumisani Kumalo […]

STATE-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp said on Tuesday it has begun preliminary talks with South African investors planning to set up an oil refinery in Nigeria. The investors plan to build and operate a refinery with a concession to lift Nigerian crude oil. The capacity of the plant is not yet known. The three-member South […]

LISTED insurance and financial services company, Sage, reported headline earnings per share for the year ended March 31 of 257,7 cents, a 22% increase from the 211 cents seen in the year-earlier period. Sage said before-tax profits had risen 54% to R492,2-million from R318,6-million in the previous year, although taxes had more than trebled to […]

SOUTH Africa’s main agency for government statistics said on Tuesday it is recruiting a new head to replace Mark Orkin, who has held the post since 1995. Orkin has been credited with turning the body around, making it a authoritative source of relevant market information reflecting a democratic South Africa. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel stressed […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday 11.20am. IN a move which threatens the already fragile state of affairs in the Premier Soccer League, Sundowns have turned down an offer to play in the Vodacom Challenge. The competition, an unofficial multi-million rand involving top soccer teams from all over Africa — and possibly teams from countries […]

ZAMBIA is holding an Angolan soldier after a border clash that left three Zambians wounded last week. “Three Zambians — a soldier and two civilians — were wounded but are out of danger. We are still holding one Angolan government soldier,” a Zambian official said. The incident happened on Thursday when Angolan soldiers crossed into […]

ZIMBABWE warmed up for Thursday’s second Test at Trent Bridge with their second consecutive victory on Yorkshire soil beating MCC by 22 runs in Castleford on Sunday. The tourists, beaten with embarrassing ease by England in the first Test at Lord’s and badly out of touch elsewhere this summer, played themselves back into form with […]