WEDNESDAY, 9.45AM: The latest round of talks between the European Union and South Africa on free trade and development has been hailed as a breakthrough after the EU agreed to South Africa’s proposals for dealing with sensitive farm products, previously excluded from the negotiations, through special development protocols. EU chief negotiator Philip Soubestre said the […]

TUESDAY, 200PM: The inquiry into the Motheo Housing scandal reported on Wednesday that although the contract was technically illegal and the housing board had failed to ensure adequate funds, there was no proof that anyone benefitted improperly from the contract. Commission chairman, Deloitte and Touche executive Hugh Dreyer, submitted a 140-page report to Mpumalanga premier […]

WEDNESDAY, 4.00PM: THREE security policemen drugged the ‘Pebco Three’ and then shot them in the back of the head while they slept, the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission heard on Wednesday . Former Port Elizabeth security policeman Captain Sakkie van Zyl said in his amnesty application he and two colleagues — Colonel Gideon Nieuwoudt and Major […]

TUESDAY, 4:30PM: ANC MEMBERS of a committee into the conduct of PAC MP Patricia de Lille refused to recuse themselves on Tuesday. The committee was formed after De Lille, speaking in Parliament, named seven top ANC members, including three Cabinet ministers and two premiers, as being on a list of alleged apartheid spies. Secretary-general of […]

TUESDAY, 10.30AM: Shoprite Holdings has bought the OK Bazaars Group from South African Breweries for the nominal sum of R1. The loss-making group had cost SAB an estimated R1-billion in capital injection since its delisting in March 1994. The deal includes a guarantee of R540-million in assets and loan accounts as of November 1, the […]

KENYA REFORMS PASSED KENYA’S controversial constitutional reforms passed through their final stage in the largely rubber-stamp parliament, passed by 141 votes to 23. The new law allows opposition parties more room, cuts down on the powers of chiefs and limits the president’s powers to nominate MPs from his own parties. The opposition National Convention Executive […]

TUESDAY, 2.30PM: The phrase “make a plan” took on a new, sinister meaning in the mid-1980s, according to evidence at a truth commission amnesty committee hearing on Tuesday. Retired Port Elizabeth security policeman Colonel Herman du Plessis said he had been told by his former chief, Colonel Harold Snyman, that when Snyman had complained normal […]

MONDAY, 6.00.PM: SOUTH AFRICA beat the West Indies by five wickets, with just under two overs to go on Monday, winning a place in the Wills series final. Conditions had favoured the South Africans, but they took full advantage, with brilliant innings by Gary Kirsten, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes winning the day. And if […]

TUESDAY, 11.15AM: The crisis on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange last week proved that the rand remained vulnerable to external events, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said yesterday. While the economy had made progress since last year, the losses suffered last week, when the rand dropped to record lows against the dollar and the all share index […]

TUESDAY, 8.45AM: SPRINGBOK selectors have made six changes – including one positional switch – to the squad to face Italy in the opening match of their tour of Europe and the United Kingdom in Bologna which kicks off on Saturday. Western Province skipper Dick Muir will make his long-awaited debut for South Africa along with […]