FIRE fighters battled for several hours to extinguish a blaze on Cape Town’s Signal Hill on Friday afternoon, which had city residents choking on the thick smoke. The fire was fanned by strong winds, and a helicopter trailing buckets of sea water scooped from the ocean were used to bomb the flames, which were eventually […]

REBELS massacred 40 civilians in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo on December 31, Zimbabwe’s army said in a statement on Friday. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the report, which said the slaughter occurred at Kataki village west of Manono in Shaba province. “On the night of December 31 the rebels […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Windhoek | Saturday 5.30pm. FIVE people were killed late on Friday in a gun attack on a vehicle travelling along Namibia’s border with Angola, near where three French children were killed on January 3, Namibian police said on Saturday. The five dead are believed to have been Namibians working for the Ministry of […]

TELFORD VICE, Centurion | Saturday 6.00pm. The third day was rained out SOUTH African cricket is facing up to the prospect of Allan Donald and Daryll Cullinan playing a reduced part in the future. As rain washed out the second day of the fifth and final Test against England on Saturday, fast bowler Donald announced […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 11.00am. IN yet another twist to the Benni McCarthy saga, the striker has been included by coach Trott Moloto in the African Nations Cup squad. McCarthy, who plays for Celta Viga in the Spanish league, was included — along with Ajax Amsterdam’s Aaron Mokoena — as ”standy players”. This face-saving […]

ALISTER BULL, Johannesburg | Friday 2.00pm. THE country’s four major banks, Nedcor, First National Bank, ABSA Bank and Stanbic said on Friday they would cut prime lending rates by one percentage point to 14,5%, with effect from January 19. The cuts were in swift answer to calls from the Reserve Bank on Thursday for lower […]

STEVEN MANN, Cape Town | Friday 5.45pm. THE American maxi yachts Sagamore and Zephyrus IV reached the half-way mark in the Cape to Rio yacht race on Friday and are set to shatter the race record of 14 days and 15 hours if the ideal weather conditions hold. “Sagamore has sailed the furthest, but Zephryus […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Friday 2.45pm. BOBBY Charlton, a representative of England’s 2006 World Cup bid, said choosing South Africa to host the event would be the wrong decision. The Manchester United legend was quoted in Friday’s Daily Express newspaper as saying: “It’s been our policy not to criticise others because once the inspection teams […]

ANDY CAPOSTAGNO, Houghton | Friday 8.00pm. NAMIBIA’S Trevor Dodds leads the Alfred Dunhill Challenge half way through the second round at waterlogged Houghton. Dodds played 32 holes on the second day after only completing four before the light closed in on Thursday night. He shot a three under par 69 in his opening round and […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Saturday 6.30pm. ZULU king Goodwill Zwelithini is seeking a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki over controversial plans by the South African government to incorporate tribal land into municipal areas. Zwelithini on Saturday added his voice to protests by the Amakhosi (Zulu chiefs) in KwaZulu-Natal on proposals by the national demarcation board […]