ALAN FINLAY & Reuters, Johannesburg | Monday 12.30pm. THE South African economy has been more sluggish than thought for the first quarter of the year, largerly due to slumps in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors after this year’s high rainfalls and floods. However low growth means that interest rates are unlikely to be increased […]

THE telecommunications infrastructure of Eskom and Transnet is likely to be part of the second fixed line operator, according to Business Report. The line is expected to be up and running by 2003. The paper reports that the two state-owned entities will together own a minority stake in the new operations company. It is likely […]

ERITREAN civic groups will take to the streets early on Monday in what they say will be a “massive, peaceful” demonstration against Ethiopia’s inavasion of Eritrea and a UN arms embargo against the two warring east African nations. According to the Eritrean Civil Society Organisations, the demonstration is to “summon the attention of the international […]

IT company Didata has announced that it has won a multi-million dollar contract to build China’s first vertical industry trading portal. The first phase of the contract is valued at $1,3-million. Didata will design and maintain the business-to-business e-commerce portal for China’s household appliance industry on behalf of China Internet Capital. The entire contract is […]

AMAZULU have been dropped from the PSL into the coastal first division next season after they were beaten 2-1 by Ajax Cape Town on Sunday. To make matters worse, the KawZulu-Natal team was reduced to nine men, with the sending of of first Elasto Lungu (second warning for dangerous play) and then Jerry Skosana (red-carded […]

THE price oil by the Opec member states jumped sharply last week to an average $27,97 per barrel, from $26,28 the week before, Opec said on Monday. The average price in March was $26,71 per barrel. The organisation’s official target is $25. Last week central banks Monetary Policy Committee blamed increased in the international oil […]

Graham Griffiths, London | Monday 11.30am. ZIMBABWE captain Andy Flower has warned England his players are down but not out after being crushed in the first test that ended at Lord’s on Sunday. ”We are not demoralised to the extent where we cannot fight back,” Flower said as the touring team began planning to turn […]

BRYAN PEARSON, Harare | Sunday 3.00pm. ANTI-government groups in Zimbabwe have begun to tighten the screws on the ruling party, calling for a tax boycott, a university class boycott and deciding to “test the waters” on political thuggery by staging an election rally near a flashpoint Harare suburb. Police, however, moved in long before the […]

DEON POTGIETER, Johannesburg | Sunday 2.25pm. AN ill-conditioned Corrie Sanders lost his WBU heavyweight world title in Atlantic City on Saturday night, and with it the possibility of fighting Lennox Lewis in the new year. Sanders paid the price for relying too much on his punching power and having not fought more than two rounds […]