PAN Africanist Congress firebrand, Patricia de Lille, cast her vote in Pinelands, Cape Town, early this afternoon. De Lille arrived in a wheelchair after weeks in hospital following a car crash while she was on the election trail. Despite probably qualifying for a special vote, De Lille, unlike many other high profile political leaders, refused […]
AS the first results come in from the Free State, the African National Congress, predictably has taken a firm lead with 70% of the votes counted thus far. The surprise is in the Democratic Party having around a 1% lead over the New National Party’s 7%. The Freedom Front is running a close third. Extremely […]
MPUMALANGA premier Mathews Phosa made a last-minute bid to prevent liquor sales on election day but pubs, taverns, bottle stores and restaurants ignored his appeal. Provincial liquor board chairman Jabulani Matsane admitted that the Liquor Act does not prevent booze sales on election days. He said Phosa’s appeal was based on “civic responsibility”. And at […]
TUESDAY, 2.30PM: THE International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a $175-million, 13-month stand-by credit to Zimbabwe, which is destined to assist the government in funding its 1998 economic reform programme. Some $52-million of the loan will be made immediately available to the government, while the remainder will be paid at quarterly intervals, subject to the […]
A CENSUS of the Congo-Brazzaville army came up 5,000 troops short, the army high command announced on Tuesday, saying the remaining names on the payroll represented either deserters or fictitious soldiers. The defense ministry two weeks ago ordered all officers and soldiers to barracks to allow a “complete review of personnel and equipment” with a […]
FREEDOM Front premier designate, Hein Mentz, voted in Ermelo but complained that the Casim Park polling station was forced to close after just one hour because it only received 140 ballot papers. The station was expected to handle at least 3000 voters. Mentz also warned that it appears a number of mobile voting stations are […]
INDONESIA has invited former Gauteng premier Tokyo Sexwale to monitor Indonesia’s parliamentary elections on June 7, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs announced on Tuesday. The institute said that Sexwale will leave for Indonesia on Wednesday. Forty-eight parties will be contesting what is expected to be Indonesia’s fairest election since 1955.
VIOLATIONS of a week-old ceasefire between rebel forces and the government side in war-wracked Sierra Leone have been reported to the United Nations, observers said on Tuesday. The UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (Unomsil) ”continues to receive reports of violations or attempted violations of the ceasefire which can put the peace talks in Togo […]
THREE men who police caught carrying firearms into a voting station in KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu-Natal, are believed to be bodyguards of African National Congress member Walter Felgate. Felgate, a former Inkatha Freedom Party hardliner, suffered a physical assault a month ago while campaigning for the ANC. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman director Bala Naidoo said the men are […]
THE funeral service for former Democratic Party leader Dr Zach de Beer was held in Cape Town on Monday afternoon. De Beer died of a stroke at his Clifton home last Thursday. De Beer’s son, also a medical doctor named Zach, said he had been scheduled to be in Scotland on Wednesday but is now […]