Staff Reporter

A FATHER and son collapsed and died on the way to hospital after eating a fish they had just caught in Indian Ocean waters off of Zanzibar, relatives said. A hospital attendant said the post mortem certificate showed the two had died from eating poisoned food. The fish has since been taken to the hospital’s […]

THE European Union has donated 2.4 million Comoros francs to improve Comoros agriculture and related trade, says the EU office in Moroni. The donation will help maintain the production of the Islands’ main sources or revenue; vanilla, cloves, ylang-ylang (a perfumed oil) and other essential items. The money will also enable the Comoros to promote […]

FOUR Angolan soldiers went on a shooting spree, killing six people and seriously wounding two others in Kuito, 580km southeast of Angola’s capital, Luanda. The troops opened fire while trying to force their way into people’s homes, the Portuguese news agency Lusa said. The soldiers then shot at an ambulance and killed an emergency worker […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday AFRICAN National Congress (ANC) chief whip Tony Yengeni has pushed for a halt in the corruption probe into South Africa’s multi-billion rand arms purchase deal, government sources have claimed in a news report. In response, spokesmen for the ruling ANC denied there had been any attempt to stop the “super” […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Sunday ABOUT 2000 men marched through central Cape Town this weekend to protest the high rate of abuse of women and children in South Africa, estimated to have among the highest rates of rape in the world. Church bells pealed in support as the men marched to parliament led by […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Saturday DOCTORS said on Friday they had found an “abnormality” in the blood of 82-year-old Nelson Mandela, but that it presented no threat to his life. Mandela himself, frail, but beaming, said: “I feel good … I know that I’m not going to die tonight.” Doctors Michael Kew and Michael Plit […]

THE government of Namibia has declared a dead Rwandan refugee persona non grata (undesirable) and ordered his deportation more than a year after his burial. Wabalinda Deo Gahizi was among a group of 17 “undesirables” from neighbouring countries declared personae non gratae by Home Affairs Minister Jery Ekandjo, The Namibian newspaper reported. Gahizi won a […]

FIFTEEN people drowned when a packed minibus collided with another vehicle and plunged off a bridge into the Lagos lagoon, police and medical services said. The conductor of the bus, who was hanging on to the outside of the vehicle, swam to safety. Thousands of bright yellow minibuses ply the streets of Lagos as a […]

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has received the International Freedom Award from a museum at the site where US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

Evaristo Cumbane, Own Correspondent | Saturday SEVEN South African pathologists have arrived in Mozambique to help investigate the death of at least 80 prisoners in the northern province of Cabo Delgado earlier this week. Mystery deepened on Friday over the deaths amid reports that they suffocated, possibly in smoke linked to traditional fighters believed to […]

ENGINEERS have successfully test-fired a new hot-water cannon designed to help a South African team climb to the top of an ice-shelf in Antarctica. The new invention is installed on the research and supply vessel SA Agulhas, which in December will take a South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) team to Antarctica. The cannon is […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Vosloorus | Sunday South African soccer hung its head in shame yesterday as crowd violence forced the final of the African Women’s Championship to be abandoned. Three people were injured and were admitted to the nearby Natalspruit Hospital, in Katlehong on the East Rand. Violence erupted just after the Nigerians had scored their […]

ONE of Mozambique’s most outspoken independent journalists, Carlos Cardoso, has been assassinated in central Maputo. Cardoso, the editor of the independent daily newspaper Metical, was ambushed near his city centre office by unknown assailants just before 6pm on Wednesday. Cardoso has been very vocal in his criticism of hardline factions within both the ruling Frelimo […]

TANZANIA has become the 36th country to ban imports of meat and meat products of cloven-hoofed animals from South Africa following the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal. It is not known how much meat Tanzania imports from South Africa, but a supermarket owner in the Tanzanian capital, Rashid Mohamed, said South African meat […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday THE Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s amnesty committee says it can find no evidence that white policemen with black-smeared faces and balaclavas took part in the massacre of 45 ANC supporters in Boipatong in 1992, according to a report in Afrikaans daily Beeld. This finding is made in the committee’s report […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Saturday DOCTORS said on Friday they had found an “abnormality” in the blood of 82-year-old Nelson Mandela, but that it presented no threat to his life. Mandela himself, frail, but beaming, said: “I feel good … I know that I’m not going to die tonight.” Doctors Michael Kew and Michael Plit […]

Fiona Macleod THORNS TO KILIMANJARO by Ian McCallum (David Philip) On one level Thorns to Kilimanjaro is a tale of adventure about climbing the highest free-standing mountain in the world; on another it is about a man’s quest to lay to rest a few bothersome personal ghosts. The main character, Hamish Malcolm, sets off to […]

Grant Shimmin February 24 2001 may well turn out to be a red letter day in the history of South African sport. That’s the day that the quadrennial meeting of the National Olympic Committee of South Africa (Nocsa) takes place and it could, given the goings-on this week, conceivably be the day Sam Ramsamy is […]

Jack Schofield The PC industry, neglected during the past two Comdex/Fall computer trade shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, returned to prominence with a vengeance. Both Microsoft and Intel showed products that will take the PC to a new level of capability, while those promoting appliances and other alternatives were faced with what Bruce Stephens, group […]

Fiona Macleod By this time next year, visitors to the world-famous Kruger National Park may be able to cross into neighbouring Mozambique without a passport, to witness one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in Africa. Plans being considered by the government mean that tourists will need their passports only if they use Mozambique to exit […]

Jessica Piombo crossfire Over the past few weeks a debate has emerged in the pages of the Mail & Guardian over what people who fail to see a viable alternative to the African National Congress should do with their votes in the upcoming local elections. Glenda Daniels, describing the dilemma of voters disillusioned with the […]

Legal advice offices will again face crisis if the government does not take the initiative Piers Pigou Poverty is arguably the greatest challenge facing South Africa, and the urgent need to address the inequities of South Africa’s racial economy was clearly recognised by the drafters of the Constitution through specific provisions for a range of […]

Sammy Moretsi An Inkatha Freedom Party local election candidate appeared in court this week for allegedly stabbing and killing an IFP comrade at a squatter camp in Bekkersdal township. Victor Roliyathe (32), who is in jail, remains on the party’s candidate list at Westonaria Independent Electoral Council. He appeared in the Westonaria regional court on […]

Neal Collins soccer Charlton Athletic are set to sign a second South African in their bid to keep the unfashionable South London club riding high in the Premiership. Manager Alan Curbishley is on the verge of luring Bafana Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett from Swiss club FC Zurich. Curbishley, the highly rated Latics boss who was […]

Deon Potgieter boxing Despite losing a week’s training because of the rantings of Glen “The cry baby” Catley, Dingaan Thobela says he is approaching readiness for the first defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) super- middleweight world title on December 15. Thobela had to fly to Paris last week to defend himself at a […]

Police have long suspected Russel Ngubo of involvement in a string of bloody murders in KwaZulu-Natal Paul Kirk In less than two weeks Russel Ngubo, a top correctional services official in Pietermaritzburg, has severely assaulted his boss for not processing his leave forms in time and been implicated in the murder of a 15-year-old child. […]

With diamonds sponsoring guns in West and Central Africa, Nechama Brodie explores the options for girls (and guys) in need of a new best friend. Are diamonds the new ivory? Cut, colour, clarity and carat. Words to set any girl’s pulse racing. But the famous four “Cs”, used to judge the quality of a diamond, […]

Ntuthuko Maphumulo soccer Banyana Banyana will be hoping to emulate the South African men’s team, Bafana Bafana, by winning the African Nations Cup in front of their home fans but Lady Luck might not be on Banyana’s side. In 1996 the Super Eagles of Nigeria did not defend their men’s African Cup of Nations title […]

Thebe Mabanga There was a time when television dramas used to be a source of fascination for millions of viewers. Whether your fare was dished from a neighbour’s set or a battery-operated set in your lounge with neighbours’ children congregating in front of the set many dramas were a decent combination of mesmerising acting and […]

Without a website, you’re just a physical presence. The South African Web design industry is happily changing that Sheree Russouw The whistling sounds of budgies and cockatiels resonate through the corridors of Randburg-based Web design company Webpaint Designs. Music is blaring from the decibel-cranking radio, interspersing with the birdsong. There’s a veritable jungle of plants […]

Neil Williams One Step Behind Mandela by Rory Steyn and Deborah Patta (Zebra) One Step Behind Mandela is the story of the journey Rory Steyn made from being an apartheid supporter to being responsible for the protection of Nelson Mandela’s life between 1990 and 1994. Steyn, who had served with pride in the security branch, […]

Duncan Mackay olympics ‘Don’t worry about the delays back home, mate,” said the Greek taxi driver in London. “Things are always done in Greece at the last minute. Why should the Olympics be any different?” It is true that appears to be pretty much standard operating procedure in Athens but not one that the members […]