WEDNESDAY, 6:30PM: FIVE million people in Southern Africa will require food aid over the next nine months as ‘El Nino’ begins to bite, causing what is expected to be the worst drought in a century. World Food Programme executive director Cathrine Bertini said in Johannesburg on Wednesday that about US$200 million will be required to […]

TUESDAY 8.30AM: THE Western Cape finally won its stalled attempt to become the first South African province with its own constitution after the Constitutional Court on Monday unanimously approved the province’s latest draft. The province, ruled by the National Party, submitted a request for a constitution of its own in September, but it was only […]

WEDNESDAY, 11:00AM: ALMOST 7 000 miners went on strike yesterday at the Harmony gold mine in the Free State, in protest against a new wages contract signed last month. The contract links the miners’ wages to the mine’s productivity, which has been flagging in the past few months with Harmony posting disappointing results for the […]

TUESDAY, 5:00PM: The government which has continued to insist that it will make its budget deficit target of 4% in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary, has finally hinted that it may miss by a small amount. Deputy finance minister Gill Marcus told an investment conference arranged by stockbrokers on Monday that “even […]

EMPLOYMENT BILL FINALLY PASSED The Basic Conditions of Employment Bill finally passed through the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday, despite National Party attempts to block it with 20 last-minute amendments. Debates on the amdendments delayed the bill by just 24 hours. The defeated amendments aimed to limit the labour minister’s powers and slow a […]

WEDNESDAY, 9.40AM: HANSIE Cronje and his charges are set to receive more than they received in Pakistan for the tour of Australia. The squad leaves on Thursday for a 10 week tour of Australia. “If the players get to the finals they will get R150 000 to share between them,” said the United Cricket Board […]

TUESDAY 11.30AM: A STALLHOLDER at the Fresh Produce Market in Pretoria has discovered cardboard boxes among the stalls, containing 75 matric biology exam papers. The education department seals on the box have been broken. Police are investigating the discovery, but education department officials — embarrassed by yet another exam fraud discovery — say the papers […]

TUESDAY, 1:00PM: The Mozambique government declared a public health emergency late on Monday in the face of a cholera epidemic that has claimed 120 lives, mostly in Maputo, over the past two months. An international health team organised by Medecins Sans Frontieres arrived on Monday with an emergency airlift of medicines and equipment to fight […]

TUESDAY, 10:00AM: The National Council of Provinces has three days to approve or reject 30 crucial Bills this week affecting housing, health, justice and education. Most have already been approved by the National Assembly. Among the Bills the NCoP will be whipping through are the Health Department’s three controversial measures on parallel imports of prescription […]

TUESDAY, 5:00PM: Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano told an investment summit on Tuesday that Southern African countries should guard against competing among themselves to attract investment. Presenting the keynote speech at the International Herald Tribune Southern African trade and investment summit in Gaborone, Botswana, he said such competition would be counter-productive, whereas the emergence of Southern […]