From semi-arid regions to thick mists and lush forests, the Soutpansberg area has it all Bridget Hilton-Barber No one can accuse the Soutpansberg of being namby-pamby. Out here, in the north of the Northern Province, the spaces are big, the scenery dramatic and the history suitably torrid. There are still unspoiled wilderness areas, the destinations […]
Philippa Garson CLASS STRUGGLE Two very different education “stories” dominated the news last week, both encapsulating the bizarre contradictions of this land. The first was the findings of the Curriculum Review committee, which in measured tones discussed its recommendations at a lengthy and fairly highbrow technical briefing. The second was the less palatable and frankly […]
JUDGE Edwin King has denied an application by TV station e.tv and radio news service Live Africa Network News to screen the Hansie Cronje cricket inquiry live. Delivering his decision on Thursday morning, he said it was more important that the witnesses could testify freely than the public’s right to know. “Having regard to the […]
CHENJERAI Hunzvi, the chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association, gave what he called a “last warning” to independent daily, “The Daily News”, to desist from publishing articles that tarnished his image and that of his organisation. Hunzvi told journalists at a press conference that he had called the press conference to refute […]
ALAN FINLAY & Reuters, Johannesburg | Thursday 4.30pm. THE rand has eased back to the R7 to the dollar mark for the first time in a week, after the currency failed to take inspiration from a firmer euro. The currency strengthened somewhat in midday trade to be last bid at R6,98 to the dollar but […]
ZIMBABWE enjoyed a comfortable 49-run win over an Ireland side bolstered by the presence of Australian Mark Waugh on Wednesday. Grant Flower led the way for Zimbabwe, making an undefeated 64 from 73 balls as the touring side totalled 227 for four from their 50 overs. Flower then helped to ensure there was no shock […]
FORMER South African cricket coach Bob Woolmer said on Wednesday that he received money for information he supplied to Graham Cowdrey a professional bookmaker in England. Woolmer said in Port Elizabeth: “A few of us who were not involved at all as players or in any other capacity in a County match, kept Chris Cowdrey’s […]
TELECOMMUNICATIONS parastatal Telkom has cut the telephone lines in provincial government departments of the Northern Province government, including the office of Premier Ngoako Ramathlodi, over unpaid bills totalling about R40-million. The provincial government has described Telkom’s action as ‘unnecessary abuse of power to achieve its results and aimed at disrupting government services to millions of […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 5.45pm. SOUTH African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs on Thursday effectively sealed Hansie Cronje’s fate when he confessed he had accepted an offer from his former skipper to make less than 20 runs in a one-day match in India in exchange for $15000. The bombshell confession also casts a dark […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 1.30pm. WENDELL Domingo, manager of the South African men’s hockey team barred from Olympic competition by the National Olympic Commission of South Africa, says that “because of Nocsa, hockey in this country is dead.” The Cape Argus reported on Thursday that at least six players are considering quitting the […]
THE council of the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has resolved to reinstate the interconnection guidelines published in the Government Gazette in March. The move is a slap in the face for communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, who in April attempted to withdraw the regulations, illegally according to Satra. The guidelines lay down the rules that […]
THE UN has expressed concern at the plight of two dissident Cuban doctors reportedly detained in Zimbabwe after seeking asylum in a third country. The two, Leonel Cordova Rodriguez, 31, and Noris Pea Martinez, 25, were taken from their home by armed soldiers in the capital, Harare, on Friday afer allegedly denouncing the Cuban leader, […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Thursday 11.00am. SOUTH Africa on Wednesday defended its deal with Brazil to back each other’s bids for upcoming football World Cups, and insisted the 2006 event has to go to Africa to give the continent a greater slice of world revenues from soccer. In an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight program, […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Gaborone | Thursday 12.00pm. THE Botswanan government aims to conclude double taxation treaties with all countries in the Southern African Development Community as soon as possible. The move is attracting foreign and local businesses. Already 16 companies have shown interest in setting-up in Gaborone, the majority of them from South Africa. International Finance […]
RUSSIA’s upper house of parliament approved sending reinforcements to the United Nations peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone on Wednesday. The Federation Council, empowered to approve the sending of troops abroad, voted to back the dispatch of 115 men and four Mi-24 helicopters to the west African state, where rebels earlier took hundreds of UN peacekeepers […]
OLD Mutual, South Africa’s largest life and pensions group, may spend up to 1,5-billion on new acquisitions in the United States and Britain, the company was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Old Mutual chief executive Jim Sutcliffe told Business Day newspaper that the group, which recently acquired UK broker and fund manager Gerrard Group for […]
NIGERIAN workers began a general strike on Thursday over petrol price increases after last-ditch talks between labour chiefs and the government ended in deadlock. Witnesses said protesters barricaded roads into the main business districts in the commercial capital Lagos. Shops and banks were also closed. “The streets are deserted because protesters turned back the few […]
NORTHERN Province’s local government and housing department has juggled its budget to free R385 million to repair flood damage wrought in February, announced department spokesman, Danny Msiza, on Wednesday. He said housing projects worth R228 million would now be aimed at the 18 781 families left homeless in 342 villages by the floods. An amount […]
OVER 1000 emerging sugarcane growers in Mpumalanga face bankruptcy because they can’t get an estimated R60-million to fix flood damage to irrigation infrastructure. The farmers grow sugarcane on more than 7000 hectares in the Onderberg region in a project described as the most successful black empowerment project in Africa. A flood relief body in the […]
ALAN FINLAY, Johannesburg | Thursday 2.00pm. MICROSOFT South Africa has called a ruling by a United States judge ordering that the software giant be split in two “draconian” and says it is an “unwarranted intrusion” into the software industry. However Microsoft SA’s marketing director Terry Annecke said it is unlikely the ruling will have much […]
PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki met Danish lawmakers in Copenhagen on Wednesday ahead of talks with Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and a brief summit with other Nordic leaders. Mbeki, who arrived in Denmark Tuesday accompanied by Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and his wife, Zanele Mbeki, with Queen Margrethe II. Mbeki will also hold meetings with Danish […]
STEVEN MANN , Cape Town | Thursday 12.30pm. EVIDENCE that Hansie Cronje was involved in more than just providing information to bookmakers mounted on Thursday, the second day of hearings staged by the King Commission which is probing corruption in cricket. Derek Crookes, the second player to testify, told of his surprise at being told […]
LONMIN, South Africa’s third biggest platinum producer, on Wednesday reported a 121% surge in half-year pre-tax earnings and forecast a major expansion in platinum production. Lonmim reported pre-tax profits of $135-million for the six months ended March 31 and proposed a 16% increase in the interim dividend to 14 cents per share. The sterling equivalents […]
Former president Nelson Mandela said he believes his successor Thabo Mbeki has done a good job during his first year as president.
UGANDAN and Rwandan troops resumed fighting in Kinsangani in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Wednesday. Sporadic gunfire was heard in the centre of the town at about 5am, less than 24-hours after the United Nations Observation Mission to the DRC announced it has brokered a ceasefire in the town. Early skirmishes were followed […]
ROB DAVIES, Cape Town | Wednesday 12.30pm. DE Wet Barry, the exciting 21-year-old Stormers centre will make his Springbok debut in this Saturday’s one-off Test against Northern Hemisphere hardmen Canada in East London. Barry, who performed with distinction in the Super 12, will start on inside centre, partnering his Stormers midfield partner Robbie Fleck. The […]
Former president Nelson Mandela will meet Burundi military strongman Pierre Buyoya.
FORMER South African netball goalshooter Irene Van Dyk, who relocated to New Zealand earlier this year, was named in the New Zealand Silver Ferns netball side for their international programme which will kick off against Australia in the one-off Fisher & Paykel Cup test in Newcastle on June 20. Van Dyk’s eligibility to play for […]
SOUTH Africa’s bid to host the 2006 World Cup is set to get a strong boost from South American nations, who will flock to its cause on the understanding that African countries will then vote for a Brazilian World Cup in 2010, the London Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The deal, to be sealed next […]
THE South African women’s cricket team leaves for a tour of England on Saturday that will include five one-day internationals. The team will also play England A in two warm-up matches on June 14 and 16 before going into the one-dayers being played on June 20 at Chelmsford, June 22 at Trent Bridge, June 25 […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Bath | Wednesday 1.30pm. FORMER England and British Lions flanker Andy Robinson replaced Clive Woodward as England coach on Wednesday ahead of the two-Test series against South Africa, although the large membership of the anti-Woodward camp were not fully sated as he moved upstairs to the manager’s post. Woodward twice missed out on […]
NIGERIAN midfielder Sunday Oliseh was on Tuesday signed by German Bundesliga football side Borussia Dortmund from Italian club Juventus Turin. The 1997 Champions League winners, who were just five points from relegation to the second division last season, paid a $7,5 million (DM 15-million) transfer fee for the 25-year-old Nigerian skipper. Oliseh signed a five-year […]