EIGHT African National Congress councillors in Potgietersrus have incurred the wrath of their stunned party by voting in a New National Party mayor for the Northern Province town. All eight councillors were suspended on Thursday for voting in Ray Bossenger as mayor and defying a party decision in March to re-elect last year’s ANC mayor, […]
REBELS fighting President Laurent Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have claimed a further strategic gain in taking Lubefu in the central Kasai Oriental province. “Our forces have taken the town of Lubefu and Lodja airport (300 kilometres (180 miles) north of (the provincial capital) Mbuji Maya,” the rebels’ military chief Jean-Pierre Ondekane […]
RWANDA’S largest Hutu political party, the Democratic Republican Movement (MDR), publicly asked for forgiveness on Saturday for its role in the 1994 genocide.MDR leader Prime Minister Pierre Celestin Rwigema told a news conference that his party “asks forgiveness from all Rwandans for the divisionist teachings that were propagated by some of its leaders.”A branch of […]
THREE South African Under-19 rugby players alleged to have misbehaved during a return flight from Wales earlier this week, and the Under-19 team manager will appear before a South African Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing next week. The decision was taken by the Sarfu Executive Committee at a meeting in Cape Town on Friday. Meanwhile, […]
ANGLO American Corporation has been in contact with Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, about joining up to exploit state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines. Anglo chairman and CEO Julian Ogilvie Thompson said on Thursday that Anglo expects to make a decision in the second quarter of this year about who will be its […]
THE Sudanese government is ready to accept Egypt as a “neutral mediator” in its conflict with northern opposition forces, the daily Al Usbu reported on Sunday.The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, said Egypt recently sent Sudan a message containing the viewpoint of the northern opposition regarding reconciliation with the government.Sudan replied to the message by voicing […]
NIGERIA’S president-elect Olusegun Obasanjo has arrived in Beijing for a two-day unofficial visit at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin, state media reported on Sunday. Obasanjo was greeted at the airport by Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Donghe, Xinhua news agency reported. The president-elect is also expected to visit Japan on April 14 and 15.He […]
THE decision to bring in Auditor General Henri Kleuver to settle the dispute between Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Judge Willem Heath over the effeciveness of his special investigative unit was welcomed by Heath on Thursday. “The auditor-general is independent, and once he has checked our files, there will be clarity,” said the anti-corruption unit’s […]
A POLICE officer was wounded on Sunday when shots were fired at an Inkatha Freedom Party election rally in Durban, police said. Five people were taken in for questioning about the incident. Shots were also fired at a rally of the new United Democratic Movement south of Durban. No injuries were reported. Tensions are rising […]
TALKS between the Southern African Development Community and the United States on the United States’ Africa Growth and Opportunity Bill are due to get under way in the Botswana capital Gaborone next week. A two-day talk shop led by US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Stuart Eizenstat, will bring together businessmen from virtually […]