The Zimbabwean government has cracked the whip on an errant deputy minister for violating government policy and has ordered the minister of anti-corruption and anti-monopolies to launch an investigation into his activities. Bright Matongo has been personally instructed by President Robert Mugabe to vacate land owned by Tom Beattie.
What makes the Afrikaans tabloid Son such a runaway success? And why are the tabloids in general doing so well, while the more established broadsheets seem to be struggling to increase or even uphold their circulation? One cannot answer these questions without taking into account the far-reaching, liberalising changes that have taken place in South Africa over the past 10 years.
If people happen to have been discussing constitutions anywhere in the world recently, it’s a fair bet they were talking about the European Union, not Iraq. Yet what is happening in Baghdad probably matters much more than any knife-edge referendums in Paris or The Hague. Iraq’s constitution is the centrepiece of the US and British exit strategy, so the stakes could not be higher.
The arcane and increasingly heated battle for the chair of the African Development Bank (ADB) came to South Africa this week when Rwandan Minister of Finance Donald Kaberuka attended the World Economic Forum’s Africa summit in Cape Town. Kaberuka and Nigerian Olabisi Ogunjobi are the last of six candidates still in the race.
Click on image for full-size view.
The film industry has accused the Department of Trade and Industry of reneging on a pledge of R250-million to promote South African film. In a recent letter, the Independent Producers Organisation wrote to acting Director General of Trade and Industry Tsidiso Matona complaining that a motion-picture rebate scheme "launched with much fanfare" last year has not materialised.
Former champions Mary Pierce and Justine Henin-Hardenne will contest the first-ever Franco-Belgian French Open women’s singles final after both recorded easy victories in Thursday’s semifinals. The champion in 2000 and 21st seed, Pierce defeated 16th-seeded Russian Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-1 in just 58 minutes.
North Korea called United States Vice-President Dick Cheney a ”bloodthirsty beast” and said on Thursday his recent remarks labelling its ruler Kim Jong Il irresponsible are another reason for it to stay away from six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. Nearly a year since the last session of the talks, North Korea has refused to return to the table.
A three-storey building, still under construction, collapsed in Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta on Thursday, killing three workers and a food vendor. The tragedy occurred in the early hours of Thursday as the workers were preparing to resume the day’s work, police spokesperson Thelma Fiberesua said in Port Harcourt.
![]()
Deputy President Jacob Zuma must have been aware of bribes sought by Durban businessman Schabir Shaik on his behalf, High Court Judge Hillary Squires said as he convicted Shaik on two charges of corruption and one of fraud on Thursday.