The radio interview I recorded with Dame Muriel Spark at her Tuscan home two years ago almost never made it on to tape because a dog outside could not be silenced. We waited for the preferred BBC background quiet during what seemed like an hour of growling, but were forced to proceed with the hound […]
Diplomatic relations among South Africa, Brazil and India (a grouping known as Ibsa) could settle what is developing into a fierce battle for the Bafana Bafana coaching job. The shortlist is down to three candidates: Carlos Parreira, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Frank Rijkaard.
Italian police codebreakers are turning to the Bible in their efforts to get at the many secrets of the Mafia’s ”boss of bosses”. Bernardo Provenzano was arrested this month after 43 years on the run. When an undercover policewoman known as ”the Cat” walked into his rural hideout on April 11 she found him surrounded by encoded messages to and from his lieutenants.
Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has labelled the increasingly hectic international Test schedule ”unacceptable” and has demanded more recovery time between matches. Ponting’s side completed a 2-0 series clean sweep against Bangladesh on Thursday but only after the Test minnows came close to a shock win in the first match against an out-of-sorts Australia.
The fight for political control of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal left at least three people dead and scores injured on Thursday as pro-democracy demonstrators defied a curfew by gathering at the perimeter of the country’s capital to demand an end to royal rule.
Soweto’s Diepkloof hostel is to be demolished, the Gauteng provincial government confirmed in a statement on Thursday. This follows the announcement by Gauteng minister of housing Nomvula Mokonyane last week that the hostel would be torn down and that 1 086 family units would be built in its place.
The battle to recover millions of rands sucked out of companies controlled by the late Brett Kebble has intensified. According to the sequestration application, former North West premier Popo Molefe received R600Â 000 from one of the front companies set up by Kebble and ”investor relations manager” George Poole.
The Western Cape government is taking seriously a request by African National Congress councillors to have Cape Town placed under provincial government administration and is forcing Democratic Alliance mayor Helen Zille to account for the continuing political strife in the council.
Two of the key empowerment companies embroiled in the massive theft from Brett Kebble’s JCI and Randgold & Exploration companies have hit back at suggestions that they were party to the alleged fraud. Instead they claim they were duped by Kebble, in what has now emerged as a ”simulated transaction”, allegedly based on forged documentation.
Bill Gates is set to meet communist Vietnam’s leaders on Saturday to promote licensed Microsoft products in the country where an estimated 90% of software is counterfeit. Gates was expected to speak about joint efforts with government bodies and schools and visit a village post office outside Hanoi on Saturday to launch a project that uses Vietnamese-made computers with Microsoft programs.