MONDAY, 4.30PM MULTINATIONAL conglomerate Lonrho has broken off merger negotiations with SA mining company Johannesburg Consolidated Investments, Lonrho announced in London on Monday. The proposed merger would have created one of the world’s biggest mining companies, with interests in coal, gold, platinum and other precious metals, and combined assets of over $3-billion. Speculation that the […]

MONDAY, 9.30AM A GROUP of 135 members of the Federated Long Distance Taxi Association was arrested at Bushbuckridge on Sunday morning, charged with public violence, theft and assault. The drivers will appear in the local magistrates’ court on Monday morning. They were arrested after preventing taxis from the rival SA Long Distance Taxi Association form […]

MONDAY, 10.30AM: The appointment of Lawrence “Big Bear” Ngubane as the manager of the Durban-based Amazulu soccer team has prompted Port Elizaberth Warriors manager Budgie Byrne to proclaim that the affair is becoming “distinctly more questionable”. Byrne was referring to the two dubious points awarded to Amazulu from their drawn match against Umtata Bush Bucks. […]

MONDAY, 10.15AM: SOUTH AFRICAN golfer Retief Goosen set a new record and stormed his way to a win at the French Open golf tournament in Paris on Sunday. Despite heavy rain falling over the weekend, Goosen finished with a 17-under-par 271. Jamie Spence came out of nowhere to take second place, and a disappointed Martin […]

MONDAY, 10.00AM: ALL the South African singles players in the Wimbledon tournament were eliminated on Sunday. South Africa’s great hope, sixth-seed Amanda Coetzer, scored the biggest loss, beaten in straight sets by Pat Hy-Boulais of Canada. Wayne Ferreira also suffered a dismal defeat to Cedric Pioline of France, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Ferreira said his defeat […]

A report on the deaths of four patients treated by a Cuban doctor finds that the families have grounds to sue, reports Justin Arenstein THE recent exoneration of a Cuban anaesthetist from responsiblity for the death of four patients at Pietersburg Hospital by the Northern Province health MEC, Joe Phaahla, flies in the face of […]

JURGEN and Claudia Schadeberg have been enjoying a fortnight of television exposure with two programmes on Saturday’s Live and Learn slot – on child abuse and child abandonment – and their evocative documentary profile of Dolly Rathebe and the Inkspots, which was screened on Thursday this week. Dolly and the Inkspots, which first screened on […]

JAZZ: Gwen Ansell FANS talking about their favourite jazzman often have trouble delinking the player from his tunes – Masekela and Stimela are an obvious example. With McCoy Mrubata, it’s different. What the fans talk about is the way the reedman plays and the way he relates to his audience. Mrubata has been busy this […]

Mungo Soggot THE Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, Penuell Maduna, flouted basic legal rights in axing a top state official, Judge Edwin Cameron has ruled. Overturning Maduna’s decision to fire Gerhard Bindeman, chief executive of the Diamond Board since 1989, Judge Cameron found the minister had violated the Constitution and Bindeman’s employment conditions. Maduna […]

Chris Oppermann THE Transvaal attorney general’s office has made a major breakthrough in the case against Dr Wouter Basson, leader of the former South African Defence Force’s (SADF) chemical warfare project. Dr Johan Koekemoer, former research manager at the covert SADF factory, Delta-G Scientific, has turned state witness and will give evidence against Basson. This […]