The Competition Tribunal gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for mining company Harmony’s hostile takeover of rival Gold Fields — provided it caps retrenchments arising from the merger at 1 000. The figure includes contracted employees, and retrenchments have to be confined to management and supervisory posts.
The 62 South African alleged mercenaries in Zimbabwe may now be released only on Wednesday, their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, said on Tuesday. He said he has been told by prison officials the group might be released on Wednesday, ”but nobody is prepared to commit to this”. The men will be deported once they are released.
There was still no word on Tuesday afternoon whether 62 South African alleged mercenaries being held in Zimbabwe will be released, the South African embassy there said. The men’s sentences expire on Tuesday. They were convicted of breaching Zimbabwe’s aviation, immigration, firearms and security laws.
The era of disposing landmines by detonation could be over after a high-tech device was unveiled on Tuesday that neutralises mines with a remote-controlled gas flame. The MineBurner is a remote-controlled device that burns landmines without the need to move, touch or detonate them.
Tshwane mayor Smangaliso Mkhatshwa and senior city officials should be held personally liable for the costs of an advertisement labelling Tshwane — rather than Pretoria — ”Africa’s leading capital city”, a lobby group said on Tuesday. According to the group, the metro council budgeted R24-million for the marketing campaign.
Two Harvard researchers have accused vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath of deliberately misinterpreting their findings to bolster his campaign against anti-retrovirals. In his publicity material, Rath has repeatedly quoted a study carried out in Tanzania by these researchers.
Rescuers have found the body of a miner trapped nearly 2km underground at Driefontein gold mine in Carletonville, a Gold Fields spokesperson said. Ten miners were initially trapped in the mine’s Number 2 shaft after a seismic event of 3,2 on the Richter scale shook the mine at about 7.40am.
Eskom has lit up the night, albeit with only a ”dim flicker”, at a farm dam in the Western Cape’s Overberg in a bid to stop blue cranes flying into nearby power lines. The power lines, on the farm Hillside near Caledon, have been responsible for the deaths of at least 30 of the elegant birds in the past eight years.
The captain of the Ouro do Brasil will be questioned on Tuesday about a collision between his ship and a fishing trawler that has left 14 fishermen missing at sea. The Ouro do Brasil and the Lindsay, a hake trawler, collided off the coast near Port Elizabeth early on Sunday morning.
The Department of Correctional Services says it is sure an amicable solution will be found to the issue of a Muslim staffer suspended for wearing a headscarf. A spokesperson said on Tuesday that the department’s Western Cape office has been instructed to meet with the suspended staffer and Worcester prison management.
A man accused of disabling traffic lights in March was found guilty in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after he admitted receiving R100 from a tow-truck driver to do the deed. In court on Tuesday, Boshoff argued that Rudi Berg should do community service, and suggested that he work in a mortuary.
Absa’s shareholders will vote for or against Barclays bid to buy 60% of Absa on June 13, Barclays chief executive for international retail and commercial banking, David Roberts, said on Monday. ”This is a compelling transaction. It’s good for Barclays, it’s good for Absa, it’s good for shareholders,” he said.
Allowing a hostile takeover of mining company Gold Fields by rival Harmony is not in the public interest, the Competition Tribunal heard in Pretoria on Monday. A merger could be to the detriment of the industry, to empowerment and to at least 1Â 500 Gold Fields employees who stand to lose their jobs, lawyers for the company said.
Hezekiel Sepeng, South Africa’s 1996 Olympic 800m silver medallist, is fighting to clear his name of doping after testing positive for nandrolone. Sepeng, who faces a two-year ban if the follow-up test confirms the first result, was tested out of season in his home town of Potchefstroom in February.
The Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) will not appeal against the Cape High Court’s dismissal last month of Idasa’s application for political parties to disclose their funding sources. At a press conference on Monday, Idasa’s Richard Calland said his organisation will not be ”pursuing the legal route any further at this point”.
Burundi’s interim president and a former rebel leader have resolved a dispute that was threatening the peace process following 12 hours of talks in South Africa with President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy. Mbeki and Deputy President Jacob Zuma opened talks on Sunday evening with President Domitien Ndayizeye and former rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza.
Over 34 farming schools have been set up in sub-Saharan Africa to assist Aids orphans, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Monday. Children orphaned by the disease and living in rural areas are particularly at risk from malnutrition, disease, abuse and sexual exploitation.
A black economic empowerment (BEE) charter for tourism will benefit the industry, the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry said on Monday. Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced the South African tourism BEE charter in Durban on Sunday.
The right to be free from all forms of violence, from both public and private sources, will come under the spotlight at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. A woman raped by three police officers has sought damages from the minister of safety and security under the common law of delict for the harm she suffered.
More than half of South African driver’s licences are fraudulent or invalid, the Department of Transport said on Monday. A senior official of the department, said in a statement that large numbers of forged and fraudulent foreign licences are flooding into the country and then being converted into valid South African licences.
Global mining giant Anglo American will show a very small decline of nine United States cents in its basic headline earnings per share for the year to the end of December 2004, to $1,79 from $1,88, as it converts to the use of the new European Union standard International Financial Reporting Standards, the company said on Monday.
Siyabonga Nkosi’s brace earned Bloemfontein Celtic maximum points away from home when they beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-0 in a Castle Premiership encounter on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jomo Cosmos escaped relegation when they beat fellow relegation candidates Dynamos 4-1 at the Rand Stadium.
Premier Soccer League log leaders Orlando Pirates extended their lead to six points over rivals Kaizer Chiefs when the Buccaneers beat Wits University 1-0 at Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney on Sunday. Pirates registered their 17th win. They now have amassed 59 points from 29 matches.
Santos made certain of remaining in the Premier Soccer League when they drew their match with Silver Stars 1-1 in a game played at the Athlone Stadium on Sunday night. Santos took the lead in the 39th minute when a Marawaan Bantam free kick from 30m out hit the underside of the crossbar and went in.
Dolphin of Nigeria took a giant step toward qualifying for the pool phase of the African Confederation Cup with a 4-1 home victory over Supersport United of South Africa on Sunday. USMA of Algeria snatched a last-minute draw against Al-Marsa of Tunisia in Algiers thanks to a goal from international midfielder Hocine Achiou.
United Kingdom banking group Barclays on Monday made its formal offer for a 60% shareholding in South African banking group Absa, offering R82,50 per Absa share. Ordinary shareholders will also receive the Absa final dividend of R2 per share.
A South African-brokered meeting to iron out differences between Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye and his chief political rival to resolve the country’s lingering crisis will finally take place on Sunday, a South African government spokesperson said. The official earlier said the talks had been postponed.
State diamond-mining company Alexkor was only partly responsible for the degradation of the wetland at the mouth of the Orange River, the Land Claims Court heard on Friday. The court is hearing a claim by the Richtersveld community for up to R2,5-billion in compensation, and the return of more than 84 000ha of land.
The National Health Council had its first meeting on Friday in Pretoria, replacing the former health policy body MinMec. ”Today, we are formally dissolving what is called MinMec in order to make way for the National Health Council,” Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said.
Consistency in measles immunisation programmes is emphasised as an effective way to curb the disease, a World Health Organisation (WHO) expert told health officials in Pretoria on Friday. ”We must facilitate the service delivery level of the measles vaccine,” said Robert Kezaala, epidemiologist for the WHO regional office for Africa.
Johannesburg police arrested 26 people this week in connection with the murder of two men and the assault of another in Booysens, Johannesburg, a spokesperson said on Friday. Police spokesperson Captain Schalk Bornman said the surviving victim and witnesses implicated 26 people as either participants or witnesses to the attack.
The government’s proposed laws restricting the speech of civil servants, NGOs and journalists may be the thin edge of the wedge that threatens freedom in general, says Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon, adding it is ”well past time” the African National Congress and President Thabo Mbeki learn to deal with vociferous criticism.