John Ezard Obituary Sir John Gielgud, the peerless verse speaker of 450 years of British theatre and one of its two greatest Shakespearean performers, died on May 21, aged 96. His end came “simply of old age” at his home near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on Sunday, 79 years after his first London stage appearance. His last […]
In an article entitled “‘Rock Bottom’ Morale at Wits”, the Mail & Guardian turns its attention to the question of restructuring at the university. The entire tertiary sector is currently grappling with this issue and we welcome attempts to promote awareness about and debate on this crucial topic. In order to take the debate forward, […]
NATIONAL water affairs and forestry minister Ronnie Kasrils will be tackled next Tuesday over the unresolved problem of squatters in the sensitive Dukuduku Forest near St Lucia. KwaZulu-Natal’s agriculture and environment MEC, Narend Singh, said on Wednesday that he would personally meet with the minister to find out why the matter had not been settled. […]
DIMENSION Data, South Africa’s biggest IT group, has bought the leading US network integration company Integrated Systems Group for $70-million. The group said the acquisition gives it instant credibility in the highly competitive New York market. The deal is effective from June and subject to certain conditions will be sealed with an immediate $35-million cash […]
THE Canterbury Crusaders on Thursday named the side that will defend their Super 12 title at this weekend’s final against the ACT Brumbies at Canberra’s Bruce Stadium. Scrumhalf Justin Marshall remains sidelined by a calf injury and he will again be replaced by newcomer Ben Hurst, who made a fine Super 12 debut during last […]
THE Post Office said on Thursday that it is setting up a pilot project that aims to sell postage stamps over the internet. It is hoped the project will be up and running by the end of the year. All the consumer will need is a computer, a printer and an internet connection to buy […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 1.25pm. WORLD Cup-winning halfback pair George Gregan and Stephen Larkham, along with rugby league convert Andrew Walker at fullback, hold the key to the ACT Brumbies breaking New Zealand’s hold on Super 12 title on Saturday. The Brumbies, in their first final since losing the 1997 final to the […]
MORE than 150 people were killed in the clashes that erupted between Muslims and Christians in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna at the start of this week. The toll has risen past 150 with dozens of bodies observed in hospital morgues and on the streets in the two main riot-affected areas in the south […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 2.50pm. LABOUR Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said on Thursday that work-related accidents are costing the country billions of rand a year, and that urgent measures are needed to make workplaces safer. Mdladlana told a conference on occupational health in the North West that there is a need for dramatic intervention, by […]
THE National Association of Automobile Manufacturers anticipates vehicle exports will exceed R7-billion this year. South Africa exported R10-billion worth of components and about R5-billion worth of vehicles last year. Analysts said the industry has undergone massive changes since protectionism was lifted in 1994. A report this week by national automobile group Naamsa, says that the […]
DIPLOMATS and colleagues have praised two journalists slain in Sierra Leone as courageous men who sacrificed their lives to tell the tale of war. Reuters journalist Kurt Schork, a 53-year-old American, and Associated Press cameraman-producer Miguel Gil Moreno, 32, of Barcelona, Spain, died in an ambush on Wednesday afternoon. Four Sierra Leone Army soldiers were […]
STEVEN MANN, Cape Town | Thursday 5.30pm. THE government reaped R7,7-billion rand from privatisation in the 1999/2000 financial year, R3,7-billion more than was orginially budgeted for. Addressing Parliament, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said this and favorable lending conditions have enabled the government to cut debt servicing costs to 5,5% of GDP, making more resources available […]
OIL prices continued to rise in early trading on Thursday following renewed concerns about tightness of supplies. In London, the price of benchmark Brent crude for July delivery edged up nine cents to $28,70 a barrel. Dealers attribute the increase mainly to the latest US data on supplies, although they add that speculative buying is […]
THE South African Chamber of Business and Standard Bank are launching a monthly trading conditions survey, which will be published as the Trade Activity Index. The index will relate current economic activity to an economic forecasts index for the next six months. The TAI will be the third economics index in South Africa, after Sacob’s […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 1.15pm. SOUTH African national soccer coach Trott Moloto has had to make some last-minute changes to the Bafana Bafana side that jets to Malta tonight. Aaron Mokoena, defensive star of the Amaglug-glugs, has been given an urgent call to join the team which will play Malta as part of […]
JOURNALISTS at the trial of Apartheid chemical expert Wouter Basson have been refused entry to the former South African National Defence Forces’ Special Forces headquarters in Pretoria on Thursday morning. That’s after the trial moved to Valhalla, where three state witnesses identified places where apartheid hits squads were conceived. Basson said he was suprised that […]
MALBAK, the packaging group owned by Rembrandt, has annuonced that it has bought Low & Bonar, the second biggest carton converter in the UK. According to the Business Report the deal is worth 80-million. Malbak said that the acquisition is in line with its strategy of focusing on folding cartons in the UK and Europe. […]
INTERNATIONAL paper group Sappi sold its Sappi Novobord operation to the Portuguese Sonae Industria conglomerate for an undisclosed sum on Wednesday. The sale, which is still subject to approval by the Reserve Bank and Competition Commission, forms part of Sappi’s drive to raise R2-billion by disposing of non-core assets. Sappi strategic developments director Robert Hope […]
NATIONAL Parks chief executive Mavuso Msimang said on Wednesday that 13 sites in the country’s national parks are to be commercialised over the next few months. Nine of these are rest camps in the Kruger National Park. Others are in the Addo Elephant National Park, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and at Golden Gate. Msimang said […]
PATHOLOGISTS have said that neurological shock resulting from burns was the cause of death among members of a bizarre religious sect in Western Uganda in March. A senior police officer said that this was contained in the first analytical report on the Kanungu inferno, in which about 530 people died 17 March in a church […]
SABC chief executive Reverend Hawu Mbatha has been sacked by the broadcaster. Although the board said it has reached “an amicable arrangement” and Mbatha will be “released” from contractual obligations, it follows a damning report which levelled the blame for the SABC’s poor operations squarely at Mbatha’s leadership. He is replaced by Cecliai Khuzwayo, the […]
REBELS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said on Tuesday they would withdraw their troops this week from the disputed diamond city of Kisangani along with Ugandan and Rwandan forces. But Kin-Kiey Mulumba, spokesman for the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), said rebels would reserve the right to defend the town from any attack […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Wednesday 1.25pm. ACT Brumbies coach Eddie Jones on Wednesday turned the heat back on the Canterbury Crusaders, questioning their lineout tactics ahead of Saturday’s Super 12 rugby final in Canberra. Jones is tired of opposing teams continually querying the legality of the Brumbies’ lineout methods in recent weeks, seeing it […]
TWO armed robbers have stolen two petrol tankers worth R500000 in White River in Mpumalanga. Security guard Absalom Nkosi, 28, was at his post at Shell Depot in White River when two armed men seized him. Police spokeswoman Sergeant Thabisile Gama said the men made Nkosi lie on the ground and then tied his hands […]
APARTHEID chemical warfare expert Wouter Basson held freeze-dried HIV-infected blood and a cocktail of poisons and bacteria to kill or sicken opponents of the white regime, a witness told his trial on Wednesday. Bacteriologist Mike Odendaal said he collected lethal substances while working at Roodeplaat Research Laboratories outside Pretoria, a front company for the apartheid […]
SUE PLEMING, Washington | Wednesday 10.30am. PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki has made an impassioned plea to rich countries such as the United States to help poorer nations like South Africa that are struggling in an “ocean of entrenched poverty.” Delivering an inaugural address at Georgetown University in the United States, Mbeki referred to comments by US […]
INDUSTRIAL group Barlow intends spend R3-billion on acquisitions as part of a worldwide expansion programme, the Business Day reports. Barlow has also won a 90-million deal with the British military to repair and maintain forklift trucks over 10 years. According to the paper the group has been on the acquisition trail over the past six […]
SOUTH Africa’s 1995 World Cup winning skipper, Francois Pienaar has reportedly turned down an opportunity to coach the Natal Sharks. After having left South Africa, Pienaar was rewarded with a career as player, coach and executive at Saracens one of the most ambitious clubs in England. The blonde flanker has rejected the Sharks’ offer to […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Wednesday 1.45pm ALI Bacher is likely to be the first witness called by the South African inquiry into the Hansie Cronje affair, an official said on Wednesday. “He used to open the batting in his playing days, so we may as well start with him here,” the secretary of the […]
ORGANISATION of African Unity chief Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Algerian president, arrived in Addis Ababa on Wednesday and went into talks on the Horn of Africa conflict with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Bouteflika’s special envoy Ahmed Ouyahia said the OAU chairman wanted to accelerate the pan-African body’s efforts to end the war between Ethiopia and […]
AJAX Cape Town are celebrating their successful debut season in the PSL by signing a Brazilian player and putting seven players on the transfer list. Ajax finished a solid fourth on the Premier Soccer League log and look to be upward-bound next season after securing the services of Brazilian striker Rodrigo Gomes of Aracatuba. The […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 2.00pm. FRESH claims have been made that weapons – but no “atom” bomb – as well as an Amscor “agent” were aboard the ill-fated Helderberg. Two Johannesburg newspapers carried further “revelations” about the mysterious downing of the SAA flight in November 1987 that killed all 159 on board. Well-known businessman […]