FORMER All Black Wayne Smith was handed one of world sport’s toughest jobs on Friday when he was named to replace John Hart as coach of New Zealand’s rugby team. Smith beat the challenge of Tony Gilbert, who was named as his assistant. Hart departed after New Zealand finished fourth at this year’s World Cup, […]

STEVEN MANN, Johannesburg | Sunday 11.30am. WITH just 11 days to go until biggest party the world has ever seen, some of South Africa’s largest corporates and parastatals have pledged millions of rand towards local millennium celebrations. Eskom, First National Bank, Vodacom, the Post Office and Transnet were on Saturday named as official sponsors for […]

DANNI Clifford, the little St Helena girl admitted to a Cape Town hospital in October, after a mercy dash from her St Helena island home for treatment for acute leukaemia, died on Friday. A spokesman for St Helena Lines said that six-year-old Danni died at 1pm at the Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic.

ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Johannesburg | Sunday 6.00pm. Moroka Swallows (1) 2 (Nkosi 8, Mazibuko 83) Free State Stars (0) 1 (Maboe 66) AFTER the magic provided by Classic and Hellenic in Tembisa on Saturday, it was back to the more pedestrian fare usually served up at Castle Premiership matches 24 hours later under an appropriate grey […]

SWAZILAND officials have admitted using over-age players in the recent Southern Africa youth championships in South Africa. “We cannot deny there were ineligible players and the buck stops with us because we approved the squad,” national football association president Adam Mthethwa told the Times of Swaziland. Defender Mxolisi Mthethwa admitted to the Times of Swaziland […]

AFRICAN qualifying matches for the 2002 World Cup begin over the weekend of April 7-9, according to a statement from world governing body FIFA. Second-leg matches in the knockout first round are scheduled for April 21-23 and the 25 victors will be divided into five groups with the winners advancing to the finals in Japan […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Sunday 5.45pm. THE Zimbabwe government on Sunday attacked a British newspaper report asserting that the African country was on the brink of bankruptcy. “From all perspectives, the article is inaccurate, biased and designed to do maximum damage to Zimbabwe,” Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa said in a statement published by the state-owned […]

SOUTH African companies will from next week shut down their Internet and e-mail connections to avoid a rash of computer viruses expected to strike on January 1. The Sunday Times listed more than 10 prominent companies, including the top commercial banks, as among those who will cut their electronic links until a few days after […]

STEVEN MANN, Johannesburg | Saturday 5.30pm. The annual holiday season carnage on South African roads continued apace on Saturday, as the death toll since the beginning of December climbed to 354. In the worst accident recorded this month thus far eight people were killed and six injured when a minibus taxi collided with a car […]