Mungo Soggot A senior banker and two accomplices will be tried in the Germiston regional court next month for fraudulently claiming R45-million in tax rebates for non-existent goods they purported to sell to central African countries. According to court documents, the syndicate set up a chain of three companies to generate false invoices for hi-tech […]

Fiona Macleod While limited legal trade in ivory was given the go-ahead this week, a report released by South Africa’s Endangered Species Protection Unit (ESPU) shows that the protection of endangered species in sub-Saharan Africa is in a dismal state. The report is based on an intensive six-month surveillance of 11 countries undertaken by ESPU […]

Wonder Hlongwa and Tangeni Amupadhi Nelisiwe Dladla’s eyes are in constant motion, darting from corner to corner as she scans the faces of three strangers in the “the family room” of her house in Entembisweni. Dladla is scared and wary of strangers because her husband and brother-in-law were killed in separate incidents within a day. […]

Alex Dodd:LANDMARKS In February 1996 I was woken up in Dublin by the sort of phone call everyone dreads getting. “Take a deep breath. I’ve got some terrible news. Anne is dead.” One of my closest and most inspiring friends had been killed in a head-on collision. Anne’s last words to me had been: “Come […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Several foreign prostitutes have been deported from South Africa after seeking police protection from vicious assaults by their local counterparts on the streets of Johannesburg. Prostitutes from as far afield as Russia and China are working in Hillbrow, but many have now moved off the streets and into clubs for shelter. […]

Committed to changing our perceptions, the Centre for Photography looks set to put South African photographers on the map. Steve Smith reports Being an artist these days is an act of dogged optimism, particularly if you hope to make a living. There is little money available, either for private purchase or from government funding, and […]

THE United States has agreed to delegate one of its most senior law enforcers, US attorney general Janet Reno, to head a new binational crime committee with South Africa. The new subcommittee on crime and justice will be launched by US vice-president Al Gore at the seventh meeting of the US-SA Binational Commission in Cape […]

THE United Nations Security Council extended for six weeks on Thursday the mandate of a UN mission charged with preparing an independence referendum in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The vote came hours after Morocco signed a technical agreement which provides for the UN forces in the former Spanish colony to be armed in […]

THE Moroccan football federation said on Thursday it is prepared to host next year’s African Nations Cup in place of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe lost the tournament on Monday after the Confederation of African Football found the country has not made sufficient progress in building stadiums or developing an infrastructure to televise the games. South Africa, host […]

David Shapshak Millions of South Africans could find themselves without electricity when the millennium rolls over as many local authorities are not ready for the year 2000 (Y2K) phenomenon. These power failures and blackouts – and the failure of other essential services such as water supply – could have “devastating” impacts, according to a confidential […]